Danny Phantom: Laws of Attraction
by Aaron12
Summary: When Danny and Sam are named the hottest couple in Casper High, a jealous Paulina plots to counter their increased popularity by finally making Danny Phantom her official boyfriend. But her plans turn sour when Walker, searching for an escaped fugitive, captures both her and Sam, driving Danny (and Dash) to stage a rescue attempt.
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well folks, here we are again. We've now arrived at the ninth story in my Danny Phantom series, entitled, "Laws of Attraction". For those of you who have read my stories before, my apologies for taking so long in getting back with this one. Since I've started submitting my artwork to DeviantART as well, it's kind of cut into my writing time as much as my job has. But hey, I'm still alive.

For those of you who have not yet read my stories yet, you may come into this one feeling a little perplexed at what's going on. But my previous stories should shed some light on the subject. The list is as follows...

Facing the Future  
Strength in Numbers  
Bad Breakup  
Trial By Fire  
Hearts and Minds  
Pairing Off  
A Family Thing  
Stolen Years

Well, as usual, enough of my shameless plugging. Time to get on with the show. Enjoy...

Danny Phantom: Laws of Attraction  
Part One  
By Aaron

Could any sight possibly be more touching or adorable? In the living room of Fenton Works, still in their ghost forms, but with the small, chubby bodies of five-year-olds were Danny and Sam. This digital photo had been taken just a few short hours after their unfortunate encounter with a weapon fired upon them by the Guys in White, which had the unfortunate side effect of reverting them into children. Of course, unless someone saw the digital photo with their own eyes, they would hardly believe it. But there they were, both sitting on the couch, fast asleep, with Sam hugging Danny's arm tight and her head softly nestled against his.

However, for Valerie Grey, her reaction to the picture as she looked upon it in the Casper High cafeteria was not a smile of tender compassion…but an uncontrollable blast of riotous laughter.

"Are you kidding?" she blurted out between giggles, unable to contain herself. "That's really them?"

"I managed to catch that picture when they finally ran themselves asleep and left us in peace for a whole half hour." Tucker explained, being one of the few days that he was actually able to attend school without his mayoral duties getting in the way.

"And they actually let you keep it?" Valerie asked as she handed Tucker's PDA back to him.

"Well, I…kind of…had to…promise I…wouldn't…let…anybody…see it…," Tucker muttered, his voice trailing off before looking up to see Danny and Sam making their way over to the table, having collected their food.

"They can NEVER know I showed that to you," he whispered to Valerie in a panic, causing her to immediately try and stifle her laughing fit, managing to collect herself just as Danny and Sam sat down.

"Hey guys," Sam greeted simply.

However, no sooner did Sam get the words out, than Valerie instantly broke down again, another burst of giggles forcing its way past her lips. As her hand slammed on the table in a wave of laughter, Tucker instantly froze, his eyes darting over to her with a look of dread across his face.

"He showed her the picture," Danny remarked flatly as he and Sam both cast a dry frown.

"Alright, that's it," Sam demanded, snapping her fingers and she and Danny both flashed out their hand for Tucker to surrender his PDA. "Fork it over, you just lost your privileges."

"No guys, come on…it's…it's really not that bad…," Valerie tried to object, although her inability to control her giggling did little to make her case. "I mean, you have to admit…it really IS cute."

"Rrrrrnnnn…," Sam grumbled under her breath, she and Danny looking far less amused at a nervous Tucker before turning to gaze into each others' eyes. Right at that moment, they suddenly became much more at ease.

"Mmmm…nah," Sam added with a loving grin as Danny tenderly smiled back. "I like him a LOT better this way."

Tucker and Valerie already knew where this was going, both of them rolling their eyes innocently away as Danny and Sam moved in closer, each with one hand slowly inching toward the other. As their fingers slowly locked together, the rest of the moment was purely academic as they leaned in, their lips gently grazing in a set of soft, fluttery kisses. From there, only the tenderness of the moment mattered as Danny and Sam cuddled together, their temples softly wrestling each other like two baby kittens curled up together.

Just then, a pair of soft giggles sounded off behind them, breaking Danny and Sam out of the moment. Their fingers still entwined, both of them turned to see two girls walking past their table, eyeing them both almost with a tender awe. Not taking their eyes off them for one second, one of the girls whispered something to the other, which brought out another snicker from the pair before moving on their way out of the cafeteria.

Confused, Danny and Sam continued to look around the room. But what they saw only made them all the more perplexed. From almost every table in the room, more than a few pairs of eyes were fixed on the two of them, looking on with an eerie fascination. Several coy half-smiles could also be seen, along with students exchanging hushed words to each other.

"Ooooooookay, is there some joke on us we don't know about?" Danny asked, beginning to feel quite disturbed by the crowd at this point.

"If it is, I don't get it," Sam replied with a shrug. "I mean, even if they're making fun of us, why would they think we would even care?"

For Danny and Sam, none of this activity made any sense whatsoever. Tucker and Valerie, on the other hand, seemed to understand what was going on all-too well as they found themselves exchanging nervous glances.

"Uh, Danny? Sam? You guys didn't happen to have a look at the school paper this week, did you?" Valerie asked pensively.

"The school paper? What, are you kidding?" Sam answered with a cynical hollow laugh. "Come on Valerie, you know that rag doesn't write about anything in this school that actually CONCERNS us."

"I…wouldn't be so sure," Tucker remarked uneasily, pulling a copy of the latest issue from his backpack and sliding it across the table. "You guys might want to check out the answer to the latest survey question on Page Four."

With a hint of concern on their faces, Danny and Sam flipped away the first pages to reach the paper's weekly student body survey. Usually, it was little more than a fluff piece, getting the students to weigh in on nonsense teen gossip. And so far, the title's question seemed to be just par for the course in terms of shallowness.

WHO IS THE HOTTEST COUPLE IN CASPER HIGH?

But the results of the poll were the last thing Danny and Sam were expecting to see. Splashed across a quarter of the page, in the form of a huge pie chart, were the answers submitted by students. The numbers showed that nearly 80 percent of the student body had submitted responses to the question, almost a survey record. Among the answers, Star and Kwan had earned 3.2 percent of the graph, despite the fact that they had broken up a couple of months ago. Even Mr. Lancer and Ms. Tetslaff had made the poll with 0.8 percent, although their inclusion was clearly meant as a joke. But overshadowing all others on the pie with a landslide 95.6 percent, were two names in bold type that were clearly unmistakable…

DANNY FENTON AND SAM MANSON

Danny and Sam's eyes could not possibly have been any bigger at that moment as the image before them finally sunk in. Looking back towards each other, their faces white with shock, their shared glance lasted only a moment before they whirled back around to the rest of the students in the cafeteria, most of which had yet to take their gaze off the pair. The look of fascination on most of their faces made it clear that this article was in no way intended as a joke. And once that reality struck home, Danny and Sam could only respond with one single word.

"WHAT!"

* * *

"I don't believe this!" Sam exclaimed, pacing frantically inside an empty classroom after she and Danny made a hasty retreat from the cafeteria. "This is the 'Sam Tasma blogs' all over again! Since when is my personal life anyone's business but my own? Well, I am going to do something about this right now!"

"Whoa Sam, calm down," Danny cautioned, gently taking Sam by the shoulders before she could storm out of the room. "What are you going to do, kick down the doors and tell the editor of the school paper to take the survey out before you photocopy his face? It's a little late for that, don't you think? Besides, weren't you the one who was just saying, not five minutes ago, that we didn't care what anyone else thought?"

"That doesn't mean I'm going to feed the beast, Danny!" Sam argued back. "I mean, it's making us sound like some Hollywood tabloid couple. I can just hear everyone chattering now. 'Oh, guess who saw Danny and Sam holding hands yesterday?' 'Ooo, I saw Danny and Sam making out at the mall.' All the pointing and whispering…do I really need this in my life?"

"Well, if it's THAT big a deal, we could always just not spend any time together until the hype dies down," Danny suggested, rolling his eyes thoughtfully.

"Okay, that seriously better have been a joke," Sam responded with a looked that showed she was clearly unimpressed.

"Exactly my point…you're overreacting." Danny pointed out, walking over and gently taking Sam's hands in his. "Look Sam, I know you're not happy about this. I know you like your privacy. But…come on, it's high school. These things don't last. In a week, someone will have squirted something out their nose or got their pants ripped on something and before you know it, THAT'LL be the only thing everyone ends up talking about."

"It'll pass, okay? Trust me."

(As Sam finally raised her head, her eyes caught a glimpse of Danny's reassuring smile. And just that look alone was enough for Sam. With a hollow chuckle and a relieved grin of her own, as her hands gently slid away from Danny's and reached up to gently pull on his shirt.

"Oh Danny," she murmured softly under her breath, "You know you're the only one who could say that to me and actually make me believe it."

Danny didn't bother to respond with words. Instead, he merely propped Sam's chin up between his thumb and forefinger and slowly leaned in, caressing her lips with slow, tender kisses.

Sam felt her heart quicken as she savored every second of Danny's lips softly grazing against her own. But as much as she was getting pulled into the moment and part of her was hoping that she'd never have to come back out, she couldn't help but find herself feeling a certain level of…fascination. After all, this was becoming a more and more common occurrence of late. Somehow, Danny just always seemed to be there for her, with a warm kiss at the ready, making Sam feel better at just the right moment. It was as though he always seemed to know right when she needed him most. Could it be another sign of that growing bond between them at work again?

But a moment later, the question no longer mattered as Danny finally pulled away and looked into Sam's eyes, following up their kisses with a soft, loving grin. And that final act of tenderness was all Sam needed. She didn't need Danny to say it. She could see it shimmering in his eyes so clearly that the words weren't necessary. Sam, however, couldn't help herself as she and Danny moved in and held each other tight.

"I love you so much," she sighed, nestling her head in the crook of Danny's neck.

That was twice now, in a matter of seconds that Sam would have given just about anything to have stayed in that moment forever. However, such good fortune was not to be as her eyes happened to glance over to the other side of the classroom, only to notice the door slowly opening, trying to be as indiscreet as possible.

"HEY!" she shouted, causing Danny's whole body to twitch in shock. "Unless you want that door to become a permanent part of your face, I suggest you keep YOUR PEEKING EYES TO YOURSELF!"

Still locked in his embrace with Sam, Danny's head whirled around to see what Sam could have been shouting at. A moment later, he soon got his answer as the door which had slowly been inching its way open suddenly reversed and began gradually closing once again. And the comedic reaction to Sam's outburst only made Danny feel more comfortable in his position as he turned towards her.

"There, see? And you were worried," he remarked jokingly as he and Sam flashed each other an amused smile before hugging each other tightly once again, cuddling cheek-to-cheek.

* * *

And so it was, Danny and Sam found themselves under the all-seeing microscope of Casper High's teenage gossip machine. It seemed that hardly a moment went by that someone wasn't eyeing them or talking about them. Eventually, it would reach a boiling point where Sam was reminded just how ridiculous that survey was and why it got her so angry in the first place. But with Danny remaining at her side for comfort, she somehow managed to swallow her objections and keep moving forward.

One noteworthy moment occurred just a few days after the school paper had been distributed. Danny and Sam were eating lunch outside on one of the schoolyard picnic tables. Little did they know that their meal was being observed by a couple of female classmates, who were hiding behind a thick bush and watching intently.

"Did we miss anything?" the first girl whispered as she struggled to find herself a decent vantage point. "What are they doing?"

"Nothing yet," the second girl replied, "Looks like they're just eating lunch."

Oblivious to their would-be spies, Sam was halfway through her lunch and seemed to be enjoying her salad. However, her attention was quickly diverted as she glanced over and saw Danny sitting beside her, his head propped up under his hand, and just staring at her with an almost hypnotic grin.

"What?" Sam asked straightforwardly.

"Nothing," Danny simply answered with a shrug, even as the smile from his face refused to fade. A smile that Sam was quick to take notice of again when she turned back a few moments later to see Danny's eyes still locked onto her.

"What?" she exclaimed, not sure at that point, whether to be amused or annoyed.

"Nothing!" Danny asserted, trying to preserve his innocence. But Sam soon got another answer as Danny's next words quickly followed a loving sigh.

"I just can't get over how beautiful you are."

No sooner did the words escape Danny's lips than Sam felt her cheeks grow hot and she instantly turned away with a shy smile. It wasn't until she felt Danny slide along the table seat towards her that she finally turned back, even though she still had her head down.

"Aw Danny…," she cooed, fidgeting bashfully as Danny gently propped her chin up and lifted her face to meet his.

Every moment was being captured by the two girls who were spying on them. As Danny and Sam moved in closer, the pair merely responded from their hiding place with a united sigh of pure bliss and wonder. But their reaction was soon to turn to one of surprise. For just as Sam leaned in to share what she thought was going to be yet another tender kiss, Danny's hands reached down and began gently tickling her sides, causing Sam to blurt out laughing uncontrollably.

The two girls could only look on with stunned fascination as Sam flailed her arms and legs wildly, trying desperately to contain herself, but to no avail. Danny, meanwhile, couldn't help but feel a little amused as he found himself chuckling at Sam's reaction. That is, until Sam finally managed to force enough presence of mind to reach over and pinch Danny's chest, twisting hard.

"Rrrrrrrr!" Danny growled, his whole body tensing in agony.

"You…you deserved that, you know!" Sam laughed out loud, despite finally starting to calm down.

"I did, I did," Danny groaned, his voice a mixture of amusement and pain. "I just couldn't help myself."

It took another few moments for Sam to get the last of her giggles out. But once she had regained her composure, she turned back to Danny with a gentle sigh, reaching up and softly cupping his face in her hands.

"Now Danny, you know that my love for you burns with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns," she declared plainly before starting to gently twist Danny's cheeks, her voice turning into a half-threatening tone through gritted teeth. "But there are SOME things you just DON'T…GET…AWAY WITH…GET IT?"

"Got it," Danny murmured obediently.

"Mmmm…good," Sam purred, leaning in and softly pressing a gentle peck on Danny's lips.

It was all academic at that point as Danny and Sam pulled each other close, slowly settling into a soft wave of feathery kisses. However, to the two girls who were watching them, they'd completely lost interest in looking for romance as a totally new fact took precedence.

"Wait a minute…she's ticklish?"

* * *

"She's WHAT?" a third girl whispered with the other two, later in the day as the class was silently paying attention to Mr. Lancer's English lesson.

"Seriously, no kidding," the second girl replied under her breath as the first girl nodded. "We both saw it with our own eyes."

"…no way…" the third girl replied, shaking her head in disbelief before looking back to Sam thoughtfully. "This I've got to see."

With Lancer facing the chalkboard, the third girl, who was sitting directly behind Sam, chose to tempt fate and pensively reached forward, her hand inching closer and closer to the small of Sam's back. It just didn't seem possible that the darkest of Casper High's students could possibly succumb to something as childish as a tickle. But if it really WAS true…well, wouldn't THAT be just the juiciest little tidbit about her ever.

Sam, meanwhile, didn't seem to notice, as she remained silent, her eyes intently scanning the pages of her textbook. However, as it turned out, words were hardly necessary. The muffled crackle of Sam's knuckles as she slowly clenched her free hand into a tightly-balled fist was all the encouragement the third girl needed to halt her advance and slink back into her seat.

"You know what? I think I'm gonna take your word for it," she whispered to the first two girls, who could only reply with a wide-eyed nod as they simply froze dead in their seats.

* * *

As the days continued to go by, Danny and Sam eventually grew more and more oblivious to the stares and whispers of the other students, opting instead, to focus on enjoying their time together at school, rather than concerning themselves with what everyone else thought. After the better part of a week, even the public displays of affection began to grow more common again, such as sharing open kisses in the hallways amongst the other students. Of course, this only gave way to more whispers and glances among the students. But for Danny and Sam, these were small matters. After all, they knew, deep down, that their time together was all about the feelings they were sharing. And those were FAR more important.

However, one person who WAS taking notice of all the hype surrounding the pair was Danny's one-time crush and Sam's long-time annoyance, Paulina. And she definitely didn't like what she was noticing. It seemed like only yesterday that all she heard in hushed whispers behind her back was how all the guys wanted to be WITH her and all the girls wanted to be LIKE her. But ever since that accursed survey came out in the school paper, it seemed like all anyone wanted to talk about was Danny and Sam.

No, this had been going on well before the survey came out. Even weeks before, Paulina noticed how much attention the love-struck pair was getting from the rest of the student body, particularly from those boys and girls who weren't qualified for Paulina's little clique. From there, their hype exponentially grew to the point where they were all anyone could talk about. And Paulina, she'd been tossed to the wayside, all her looks, money and popularity amounting to absolutely nothing. In seemingly no time at all, Danny and Sam had completely stolen Paulina's thunder...and the worst part was they didn't even NOTICE it. Not a day went by that Paulina didn't receive a painful reminder of that fact.

And she was about to receive yet another one that morning as she was getting ready for her classes. Innocently pulling some books out of her locker, her body immediately tensed up as she heard a tender giggle sound off behind her. No need to turn around, Paulina knew full well who it was. But her frustration made it impossible to restrain herself as she whirled around to see a laughing Sam walking down the hall with Danny right behind her, his arms around her waist and his lips landing comical smooches onto her cheek. Lost in the moment, neither one of them seemed to even notice Paulina as they walked past. In fact, Sam actually looked partially entranced as she reached up to slide her hand along Danny's cheek and tilted her head to look deeply into his eyes.

"Ooooh…you are SO perfect for me," she cooed under her breath before Danny leaned in, tracing a long, lingering pair of kisses across Sam's lips. From there, they simply proceeded on down the hall, cuddling cheek-to-cheek.

"Eeeeuuuuuww," uttered Star, one of Paulina's "satellite" friends as she walked up behind her. "Is it possible to be any more nauseated by those two? Still, I gotta admit, I kinda wish Kwan had treated me a little more like that. If he wasn't so obsessed with football…sometimes, I think he's got a brain shaped like one…"

Paulina, however, didn't appear to be listening. Literally cross-eyed in her frustration, she only let out a snarl of rage as she slammed her locker door shut.

"Uh, Paulina…are you okay?" Star asked nervously, part of her afraid to get too close.

"Oh, of course, why wouldn't I be?" Paulina shot back sarcastically, a faint whine in her voice. "Just because they're the only thing anyone's talking about anymore? Because everyone's saying how they're SOOOOOO perfect together? Because the next thing you know, those two geeks are going to get married and live happily ever after, just like a fairy tale and…and…"

"…that's supposed to be what happens to MEEEEEE-EEEEEEEE!"

"Look Paulina, you've gotta calm down." Star responded, trying to sound reassuring as they walked to the classroom. "Sure, it LOOKS like those losers are riding high right now. But I really don't think it's as bad as it sounds."

"Oh man, she is just SO lucky," a voice was heard to say as Paulina and Star turned to see two average girls walking past them towards class.

"Totally!" the other girl replied with a giggly lilt. "The way he just worships her the way he does…I SO hope I can find a guy who treats me like that."

"Okay, it's EVERY bit as bad as it sounds," Star sighed as Paulina gritted her teeth even tighter.

"All I know is if I get those two thrown in my face one more time today, I'm just gonna…," Paulina started to say as she reached for the doorknob.

"Uh, Paulina…?" Star tried to point out, noticing that Paulina wasn't reaching for the classroom door, but the door of the broom closet that was right beside it.

But it was too late. And as Paulina flung the door open, Star immediately wished she had been faster on the draw. For hiding inside the broom closet were none other than Danny and Sam, tucked in warm embrace and sharing a slow, passionate kiss before heading into class. For a moment, it looked as though nothing could possibly interrupt them in the middle of such a tender moment. That is, until the pair, still locked in their kiss, popped open their eyes and slowly panned their gaze towards Paulina and Star, who could only stand there, staring back at them with hanging jaws and stunned looks.

"Occupado!" Sam announced in an aggravated voice as she reached out and yanked the door from Paulina's hand, slamming it back in her and Star's faces.

It took only a brief second for Paulina to recover from that indignity. But once she did, her frustration instantly gave way to white hot rage, with her teeth gnashing and her entire body becoming one tensely coiled muscle.

"RrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRTHAT DOES IT!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, stomping back to her locker. "This has gone on long enough!"

"Paulina, what are you doing?" Star asked, fluttering nervously behind her.

"I'm taking back what's rightfully mine!" Paulina answered angrily as she reached her locker, fiddling with the combination. "Everyone thinks those two are so great! Well, let's just see who this school is talking about when I show up with a boyfriend that'll send them right back to the bottom of the barrel where they belong!"

"Okay, I'm all for that. But…who are you gonna find that's THAT awesome?" Star wondered, seeming more than a little unsure. That is, until Pauline whirled around and flung open her locker door.

"Be-HOLD!" she declared, exposing the inner chamber and revealing her still-standing shrine to the one and only Ghost Boy himself…Danny Phantom!

"Danny Phantom! Niiiiiiiiiiiice…," Star had to admit as Paulina simply beamed with a smile of pride. "But…how are you going to find him? I mean, sure he's come and saved you a couple of times, but you haven't really seen him in months."

"Oh, you just leave it to me," Paulina responded wringing her hands with a wicked giggle. "I know EXACTLY what I'm doing."

* * *

At the Amity Park Mall, the bustling murmur of shopping was being overrun with screams of terror as a throng of people stampeded from the Food Court. A perfectly natural reaction, especially when the snarling form of the lunch lady, surrounded by a torrent of meat, had her sights set on attacking the mall's newest eatery…that featured a vegan menu.

"Food Service? Without Meat? Unacceptable!" the Lunch Lady bellowed in fury. "THIS NUTRITIONAL DENIAL SHALL NOT STAND!"

"Okay, one question!" Sam's voice called from behind, forcing the Lunch Lady to whirl around to see both her and Danny floating just a few feet away in their ghost forms. "Exactly how old WERE you when the heart attack set in?"

Answering only with a scowl of rage and deafening roar, the Lunch Lady molded her enormous collection of meat into one of her usual armored constructs, lashing out at Danny and Sam with blinding speed. Luckily, Danny and Sam were just a little bit faster, dodging the attack and charging in, Danny's hands blazing with ecto-energy while Sam formed hers into a pair of Ghost Ray cleavers.

The battle was well underway when Paulina appeared on the scene, just as the panicked shoppers continued to retreat from the Food Court. Seeing what Danny and Sam were up against, the timing couldn't have been better. If she just happened to find herself in danger of a ghost attack, surely Danny Phantom would come to her rescue. And what better opportunity than that to plant the seeds that would unquestionably blossom into a beautiful flower of romance? Clearly, a more perfect couple could not possibly exist. That would show that scrawny dweeb Danny and that goth geek Sam who was still top of the heap at Casper High.

Taking a quick look in her compact to ensure that her face was absolutely flawless, Paulina prepared to rush headlong into the fray, calling for Danny to save her. Unfortunately, she got little more than a few steps before her foot hit a puddle of water that was left behind by a janitor's mop, causing her feet to fly out from under her and for her to go sliding on her rear, crashing into a nearby table. The force of the impact knocked over a half-full cup of soda and Paulina quickly found herself drenched under a waterfall of sweet, bubbly liquid.

Paulina could only gasp in shock at the stained, sticky mess she'd become. No way could she let Danny Phantom rescue her like this. Without a pause, she quickly dashed to the nearest Ladies' Room to clean herself up. It wasn't long before she emerged again, without so much as a blemish on her, ready to set her plan into motion again. But by the time she could even think about it, the sounds of cheering echoed in her ears, forcing her to look up and see that the fight was already over. Floating over a mountain of seared, roasted and sautéed meat, Danny was just closing the lid on the Fenton Thermos while Sam turned down her Ghostly Flame powers and the crowd cheered on.

"Okay, 'Official Disclaimer' time!" Sam couldn't resist calling out to the cheering crowd, who instantly gave them her undivided attention. "The techniques used here to dispose of these processed carcasses do not reflect the opinions or dietary choices of this ghost girl. Let's show some respect to our animal friends! GO GREEN!"

"Ooooooookay, that's great, that's lovely. You feel better now?" Danny chimed in dismissively, placing his hand on Sam's shoulder while the crowd simply exchanged confused murmurs and bewildered glances at her sudden rant. "Let's go."

With that, Danny and Sam flew away as the perplexed crowd still managed to cheer them off. Paulina, meanwhile, found herself banished to the back of the mob, unable to get Danny's attention before he made his exit.

"Darn it…" she muttered to herself as she trudged away.

* * *

A city park is typically a place for children to be screaming with excitement and fun. But today, it was filled with screams of panic as a demonic ghost horse came rampaging through, sending innocent people diving for cover in all directions. This unholy terror came courtesy of Desiree, the Wishing Ghost. A six-year-old girl, celebrating her birthday in the park with friends and family, happened to wish under her breath for a pony as she blew out the candles on her cake. Of course, Desiree felt obligated to grant the little one's wish, but naturally twisting it in her own unique fashion.

Fortunately, the horse had little time to cause any real damage as Sam landed on its back from above, forming her ecto-energy into a pair of Ghost Ray reins. Pulling hard, she guided the stampeding beast directly toward Danny, who stood firm just a few yards away, Fenton Thermos in hand. And as Sam flew away at the last possible second, Danny managed to suck the animal harmlessly away before the pair turned their attention towards the true cause of this calamity…Desiree herself.

"Crashing a little girl's birthday party, Desiree?" Danny called up at her. "Coming off a little needy, don't you think?"

"Well, one takes the jobs one gets," Desiree answered smugly before molding her hand into the head of a sledgehammer. "Speaking of which…"

Without a pause, Desiree lashed out, her transformed fist screaming straight towards Danny's head. Luckily, Sam was just as quick to respond, unleashing a mass of ecto-energy which quickly formed into a soft rubber ball which bounced Desiree's attack harmlessly away. From there, Danny and Sam both charged in and the fight was on.

Paulina managed to arrive on the scene, once again, as the fight was well underway. And she immediately got a hungry glint in her eye as she saw another opportunity to put her original plan into motion. She may have missed her chance back at the Amity Park Mall, but this time, she was determined not to waste it.

Her eyes squarely on the action, Paulina excitedly dashed headlong into the danger zone, stopping for nothing. Unfortunately for her, that also included the nearby tree root jutting up from the ground, which caught her foot and sent her flying through the air. Tumbling head over heels, Paulina had no idea which way was up and ended up rolling along the ground down a steep embankment and into the park's flowing stream.

Dazed and soaked to the bone, it seemed like forever before Paulina managed to crawl back up the embankment and get back to where she came in. But as she finally was able to see what was happening, she quickly realized that it might as well have been forever. Not only was Desiree captured and the fight over, but Danny and Sam were taking a moment to make it up to the poor little girl whose party Desiree had terrorized, with Sam giving her a ride on a little Ghost Ray Pony she formed with her ecto-energy.

"There you go. Did that make your day a little better?" Danny asked, helping the girl to the ground as Sam's pony dissipated.

"Thank you…," the birthday girl cooed sweetly, unable to resist hugging Danny around the neck. Not that Danny and Sam needed a reminder for why they do what they do, but as their eyes met at that moment, that's what it was all about right there.

"Don't mention it, kiddo," Sam replied, who couldn't help but smile as she patted the little one on the head.

Danny and Sam stuck around a few moments longer for some more head pats and high fives with the girl's friends before finally taking off, with the little children and even the parents cheering them on. Paulina, meanwhile, had been left by the wayside once again. Even if she WAS in any condition to try and get their attention…which she certainly WASN'T… it wouldn't make any difference now. Yet another golden opportunity had slipped through her fingers.

"Darn it!" she exclaimed, her frustration building.

* * *

His ebon steed howling through the night, the Fright Knight was ready to cut his own swath of terror through the streets of Amity Park. Or at least he would be if he didn't have Danny hot on his trail, making things even hotter with a volley of Ghost Ray blasts. But to the Fright Knight, this seemed of little concern as he turned his devilish mount to face the oncoming assault and smoothly cleaved every Ghost Ray heading towards him with his trademark sword, the Soul Shredder.

"Foolish boy!" The Fright Knight declared as Danny stopped dead in his tracks. "Did you truly believe your meager attacks could stand before the power of my blade?"

Just then, the Fright Knight caught a green flash out of the corner of his eye. Whirling around and raising his sword just in time to defend himself, he caught the strike of Sam, who had come up behind him, brandishing a Ghost Ray scimitar, courtesy of her own ecto-energy.

"Oh, really? Well, maybe you'd like to test my 'metal', tough guy," Sam challenged as she and the Fright Knight strained against each others' blades.

It was then that the Fright Knight finally realized that Danny's attacks were meant merely as a distraction for Sam to come in with an assault of her own. And now that Sam making an opening of her own, Danny pressed the advantage and moved in to attack.

Meanwhile, from the darkness of a nearby alley, Paulina looked on, once again, determined to make her move so she could win a rescue from Danny. But unlike her previous attempts, she was taking absolutely no chances. Before, she was focused only on the prize, running in without noticing anything else around her. And both times, it cost her dearly. This time, she was determined to not let anything trip her up.

As the battle raged overhead, Paulina quickly went to work. First, she quickly swept the patch of sidewalk she was planning to run along, making sure there were no sandy patches to slip on. In fact, to take extra care, she even went back over the entire area on her hands and knees with a small hand vacuum. From there, she got her eye down to ground level, making absolutely sure that the sidewalk was straight and there were no misshapen blocks sticking up for her to trip on.

So far, so good. Now to make sure she looked her absolute best for the big moment. After two failed attempts, there was no way she was going to try this time looking anything less than completely perfect. Ducking back into the alley and pulling out her compact, Paulina immediately went to work, applying the right shade of lipstick, the best eye shadow she had and just the tiniest hint of blush to bring out her cheek bones. Once she was sure there was no way she could possibly look any better, she blew a seductive kiss into her mirror, paused to center herself with a deep breath and charged straight into the middle of the fight…!

…only to discover two steps later that there no longer WAS a fight. Paulina had been so busy making sure everything was just so for her big entrance into danger that she wasn't paying attention to anything that was actually happening during the fight. Apparently, Danny and Sam's clash with the Fright Knight had taken them directly to a nearby fruit and vegetable stand, complete with pumpkins. This gave Danny and Sam the perfect opportunity to exploit the Fright Knight's one weakness, managing to disarm him and plunging the Soul Shredder into the biggest pumpkin the stand had.

By the time Paulina got back in on the action, the Fright Knight had already vanished and the sheathed Soul Shredder was winking back into the Ghost Zone, leaving Danny and Sam only to congratulate each other with a quick high five and fly off into the night sky. And as the pair disappeared, Paulina could only look on, her left eye twitching in bottled rage at a third perfect chance lost. In fact, she was too lost in her own anger that she didn't even notice danger coming up behind her. Peeking out from behind a nearby dumpster, the one and only Box Ghost slowly made his way up from behind her, eager at the opportunity of finding a human to terrorize.

"HA! BEWA…Oof!" the Box Ghost's declaration was cut off as he was slammed in the face with a trash can that a furious Paulina had kicked into the alley. Paulina, however, was still far too frenzied to notice.

"Rrrrrrrr…! What does a delicate, helpless beauty have to do to get rescued around here!" she whined angrily, storming down the street and leaving the Box Ghost groaning in the alley from underneath the trash can Paulina had unwittingly kicked at him, dazed and unnoticed.

"Uuuuuuuunnnh…be-wa-are…"

* * *

Paulina's frustration still hadn't subsided by the time school had started the next day. A fact that was particularly noticeable to anyone that knew her well. Star, for one, made it her personal business to stay a few steps behind her at all times, not wishing to incur her wrath. Some students, however, were a little more ignorant as to Paulina's state of mind. Specifically Dash, who thought he would take the opportunity on the way back to the locker rooms after gym to try and make a good impression.

"Hey Paulina," he called to her as he firmly flexed one of his arms. "Did you see some of those geeks I nailed in Dodge Ball? Was that the coolest thing or…OW!"

Unfortunately, Dash's boastful attempt at flirting was immediately cut off as Paulina tromped past, slamming her foot down on one of his in the process as she growled under her breath. And while Dash hopped around in pain, Paulina bashed her way into the girls' locker room followed nervously by Star, who was still keeping her distance. It took only a few minutes for the ache in Dash's foot to subside, but as he saw another opportunity to impress the hottest girl in school slip through his fingers, he was beginning to feel a little discouraged. He'd been trying everything he could think of to get Paulina to notice him for the better part of a year now. But not a single one of his efforts even got her to look his way. He just had to come up with SOME way to impress her before someone else came along and beat him to it, but how?

Just then, a chorus of laughter rang out behind him and Dash turned around to see Danny, Sam, Tucker and Valerie walking past and sharing a little 'friend time'. Under normal circumstances, seeing guys like Danny or Tucker actually enjoying themselves would annoy Dash no end. But then he happened to notice Sam hugging Danny's arm and gently leaning her head on his shoulder and the sight gave him pause as Danny walked Sam over to the girls' locker room.

"I'll be holding my breath and counting the minutes," he uttered softly, gently stroking Sam's cheek with her thumb and looking deeply into her eyes.

"You don't have to get THAT sappy," Sam replied sarcastically, even as she smiled back at him with tender affection.

The two shared a soft, lingering kiss a moment later before slowly parting and heading into their respective locker rooms. As the scene played out, Dash looked on with a certain fascination. But he soon discovered that he wasn't the only one paying attention as he caught wind of a gentle, touching sigh. Standing beside him, two familiar schoolgirls were also watching Danny and Sam's loving moment and enjoying every second of it.

"That was SO sweet," the one girl murmured dreamily. "Those two just have love down to a science, don't they?"

"Down to a science?" the words echoed in Dash's brain as the two girls made their way to the lockers. At that moment, he suddenly found himself in a position he was rarely in before…he was becoming thoughtful.

* * *

It was later in the day and Danny and Sam were taking a bit of personal time under a tree on the Casper High grounds. With Danny resting against it and Sam's head nestled into the crook of his neck, they both looked as satisfied and content as two people could get. A feeling that was even more evident as they both tilted over slightly to look into each others' eyes. Staring into their warm gazes with gentle smiles, they were clearly sharing a moment where there was no need for words. They both knew exactly what they were feeling at that very moment, especially when they leaned in to let a pair of loving, tender kisses flutter past their lips. And as Sam curled back up to rest her head back into Danny's neck, softly tugging on his shirt, there was only one thing either of them were thinking at that moment…

…It just doesn't get any better than this.

Or at least it didn't, for a few more seconds. Suddenly, Danny and Sam felt an odd sensation disrupting their vibe…as if someone had just walked over their grave. Their eyes popping open at the same time, they both snapped their gaze upward to see none other than Dash Baxter frowning down at them.

"Okay, do you have ANY idea how good this had better be?" Sam asked, clearly irked.

"Let's get one thing straight," Dash shot back firmly, not appearing to be any happier to be there as Danny and Sam were to see him. "You guys repeat what I'm about to say to ANYONE, I'm gonna deny it. And Fenton, you're gonna spend the next two weeks living in your locker. But as much as I hate to admit, I…"

"…I need your help."

* * *

"You want to know how to get Paulina to like you?" Danny exclaimed, with Sam looking equally stunned as they spoke to a nervously pacing Dash by an isolated picnic table.

"I've tried everything, man!" Dash blurted out in exasperation. "She won't even LOOK at me. I mean, come on, Fenton, you got together with Goth-zilla here. How did YOU do it?"

"…yeah, THAT makes me want to help you…," Sam muttered under her breath.

"Dash…it wasn't that simple," Danny replied with a nervous shrug. "And…I'VE gotta believe that this is more work than you're gonna want to put in."

"There's gotta be SOMETHING you can tell me," Dash responded, the pleading in his voice clearly evident. "Come on guys, I'm DYIN' here!"

For a moment, Danny and Sam could only look at each other, neither one of them sure about what to do. Was Dash really serious about this? He certainly SOUNDED desperate enough. But did he really want Paulina to be his girlfriend because he genuinely CARED for her, or was he just into her for surface reasons? Finally, they looked back over to Dash, who only looked back, his eyes silently begging for help.

"Sit down," Sam sighed in surrender as Dash flashed a wide smile and excitedly took a seat across the table. "I'd better not regret this."

"Okay, Dash, look. What happened with me and Sam…it didn't happen overnight," Danny began to explain, his fingers gently intertwining with Sam's as they shared a gentle smile. "I mean, we spent YEARS getting to know each other before we even TRIED being together. We know what we both like and if one of us likes something that the other doesn't, we know how to deal with it. Take Sam and meat, for example…"

"Guys, guys?" Dash interrupted, already looking bored. "I didn't ask for the life story. And I don't have time for years, okay? Isn't there something you guys can tell me to fast-forward this whole thing? I mean, there's that big dance coming up in a couple weeks and it would REALLY be kickin' if me and Paulina could…"

"That's it! I'm out!" Sam announced, throwing up her hands as she stormed from the table. Immediately, Danny was about to follow her, but was quickly stopped by Dash, who snatched him from across the table by his shirt.

"Get-her-BACK-here, Fenton," he menaced through gritted teeth. "If I walk away from this empty-handed, NO ONE is going to be happy."

"Yyyyyyyyyeah," Danny replied, rolling his eyes before leaving the table and trotting over to where Sam was still fuming. "Uh, Sam…?"

"Danny, it's a waste of time!" Sam hissed under her breath. "I mean, come on! He's not taking this seriously! Why don't we just fit him with a big club and some animal hides and then he can go out and REALLY look the part?"

"Alright, just…just…calm down, okay?" Danny answered, gently rubbing Sam's shoulders reassuringly. "I think I've got an idea. Oh, Dash…!"

"Yeeeeeaaaaah?" Dash responded threateningly as Danny trotted over.

"Okay look, you want to at least get your foot in the door?" Danny explained. "How about starting by at least showing that you care about what SHE likes? Take an interest in HER hobbies. Her friends, her music, the cheer squad, anything…"

"Cheer squad…," Dash mumbled thoughtfully, "I've GOT it!"

"Uh…okay, great!" Danny replied as Dash ran off towards the school at top speed.

"Okay, Danny?" Sam chimed in, walking up to him from behind as Dash disappeared inside the school doors, "You don't actually think that paperback self-help drivel you just unloaded is actually going to GET him anywhere…?"

"Nnnnno, he doesn't have a chance," Danny answered dryly before turning to Sam, curling his arms around her waist. "But, hey…it got rid of him, didn't it?"

"Hmmmm…this is true," Sam realized with a knowing smirk as she draped her arms around Danny's neck. From there, it was right back to where they were before Dash's untimely interruption, with Sam leaning in and softly pressing her forehead to Danny's as they simply smiled and looked deeply into each others' eyes.

* * *

"Waitaminute, waitaminute," Tucker backed up as he and Valerie were talking with Danny and Sam over by the lockers. "Dash Baxter…OUR Dash Baxter…was begging YOU guys for help?"

"To get PAULINA?" Valerie added. "I mean, I know he's taken a shot at her a couple of times, but I didn't know he was THAT into her."

"Well, I can't say I'm all that surprised. I mean, come on, EVERY guy gets a crush on Paulina…," Danny pointed out, drawing a dirty look from Sam. Danny, however, was quick to pull himself back as he put his arms around Sam's waist from behind and snuggled up to her, smiling.

"…Some guys just get over it sooner than others."

"You REALLY like making those quick saves, don't you?" Sam grumbled acidly.

"Isn't that one of the reasons you love me?" Danny cooed jokingly, nuzzling Sam's cheek.

"Don't get nuts," Sam objected, even as a tiny smile crossed her lips, indicating that she was, nevertheless, enjoying the closeness.

"FEEEEN-TOOOON!"

No mistaking whose voice that came from as Dash kicked open the doors of the gymnasium. But there was DEFINITELY a mistake in what he was wearing as he came storming out into the halls, sporting a girls' cheer uniform, of all things…complete with pom-poms, no less. He may have gotten laughed out of the room by the entire cheer squad, but that alone was nothing compared to the deafening roar that erupted when the students in the halls watched him thunder by. But even as the wave of laughter echoed through the halls, like a tide that never ebbed, Danny and the others could only look on, completely dumbfounded at what they were seeing.

"Yeah, that's my cue," Danny noted, phasing into the lockers while Sam, Tucker and Valerie could only stand with hanging jaws and wide-eyed blinks while Dash fumed past.

"Hold on…you told him to join the CHEER SQUAD?" Valerie exclaimed as Danny popped his head out from the row of lockers.

"NO!" Danny protested. "I TOLD him to take an interest in her hobbies. I had absolutely NO control over any of his decisions after that."

"Okay, he DOES know they make MALE cheer uniforms too, right?" Tucker had to ask.

"Apparently not," Sam answered, still partially stunned.

"You'd better hope your locker is fully furnished, Fenton!" Dash bellowed over a school full of cackles, making a second pass as Danny phased into the lockers once again, "Because you're not gonna be getting out of it for a long, LONG time!"

"Well, I guess I know where I'm going to be spending most of my time for the foreseeable future," Danny remarked as Dash disappeared once again, phasing part of his upper body out and reaching for Sam's hand with a playful grin. "Wanna give me some company? It's dark and craa-aamped."

"Ooohhh…you're such a romantic," Sam purred with a tender smile as she took Danny's hand and phased into the lockers to join him. Tucker and Valerie, meanwhile, were left alone in the hallway, exchanging bewildered looks.

"Is it starting to feel like fighting ghosts is about the only normal thing we do anymore?" Tucker asked, drawing an affirmative nod from Valerie. "That's what I thought."

* * *

Tearing through the swirling mass of the Ghost Zone, three spectral figures, one big, one average and one small, were flying as fast as they possibly could. Following close behind, in a blare of sirens, were the unmistakable police vans of the GZPD, firing a volley of trademark capture beams at them. The large and small figures were caught in a matter of seconds, causing the third to turn around, gasping in shock at its fallen comrades.

"Don't be stupid!" the small ghost shouted. "You can't do anything for us! GO!"

Turning sorrowfully, the third ghost obeyed, turning and fleeing at top speed as a pair of police vans yielded from the chase to pick up the other two. But three more were still in pursuit…and gaining fast. For a moment, it looked as if this was a race the third shadowy figure was destined to lose.

Just then, a strange, glowing portal just instantly appeared a few short yards away. The third ghost had no idea where this portal came from or where it led to. If the portal was naturally occurring, there was no clear answer to either of those questions. But given the circumstances, ANYTHING had to be better than where the ghost was at that moment. Shutting its eyes tight, the figure dove headlong into the portal, which immediately sealed up behind.

With the third ghost's escape, the police vans had no choice but to call off their pursuit as Bullet, Walker's Vice Warden, emerged from the front vehicle, clearly aggravated at his failure. Just then, a faint twinkle in the distance caught his attention. Flying down to a nearby patch of ground to investigate, he came across a plain white box with a tag attached to it. Upon reading the tag, Bullet looked around to see if there was anyone around who could have left such a parcel out in this remote area, of all places. But seeing no one, he chose to take the parcel with him…

…which was exactly what Vlad Plasmius wanted. Watching from the safety of a nearby boulder, he flashed a wicked grin at Bullet taking his bait. And once the police vans were well out of sight, he promptly made his exit.

* * *

"So…one of the escapees managed to get away," Walker declared from behind the desk in his office, his back turned and looking away with serious eyes. "Two out of three ain't good, Bullet. Not in MY book."

"I…can't explain it, Walker. This portal…just appeared out of nowhere and…closed up before we could follow," Bullet replied, holding up the box he'd collected. "And then, after that…we found this. Don't ask me how or why, but…it's addressed to YOU."

Tossing a suspicious gaze in Bullet's direction, Walker took the box away and lifted the lid, tossing it aside. Inside was a peculiar little device, a metal box with what appeared to be a tiny satellite transmitter attached. But the most curious thing about the strange gadget was a big red button in the center, with a sticky note attached which read two little words…

PRESS ME

Walker was beginning to like this whole setup less and less. But at the same time, it was also becoming less and less likely that this was all just a coincidence. Fearlessly throwing caution to the wind, Walker pulled off the note and pressed the button firmly. Instantly, the device sprang to life, firing a beam of light from its transmitter. Within seconds, the beam swirled and twisted, giving shape to the all-too familiar form of a ghost portal.

"Hmmmm…well, we may not know 'how' or 'why'. But I think we just found out 'where'," Walker remarked, a wicked smirk crossing his face. "And if I'm right, we may not only be able to get our escaped fugitive back…but we may get a chance to hunt some BIGGER game, as well."

* * *

Once again, the streets of Amity Park rang out with cries of panic as Walker's guards swarmed over the city like a plague. Attacking homes, businesses, playgrounds, vehicles, nowhere seemed to be safe from the unrelenting onslaught.

"You've gotta be kiddng me! Not again!" Tucker yelled as he ran from a pursuing battalion, remembering full well what Walker and his goons had done to Amity Park just over a year ago. Luckily, he was snatched up by a battle-ready Valerie on her rocket sled just as the guards were about to close in.

"What's wrong?" she joked, flying along the street and blowing away the guards in front of her with a volley of weapons fire as Tucker clung to her for dear life. "Don't you like a 'nice, normal' day?"

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, an innocent woman was being terrorized by another horde of guards, only to be rescued at the last second by Danny, who phased up through the street and flew her to the safety of a nearby roof. Before the guards knew what was happening, Danny had slammed back into the street, driving his fist into the asphalt and unleashing an ecto-energy explosion which sent the guards flying like popping corn.

That was four down. The only question was, what was Danny going to do about the wave of guards charging down the street towards him? Before he had a chance to come up with an answer, a mysterious entity tore through the rear of the advancing force, sending guards airborne in all directions. That entity turned out to be none other than the ghost form of Danielle, riding the back of one guard like a snowboard along the street and using her Ghost Rays like rocket engines, plowing through the entire squad.

"WAAAAAA-HOOOOOOOOOO!" she cheered excitedly, leaping into the air and spinning around to release a huge Ghost Ray sphere, blowing away the guards she missed before landing at Danny's side. "Oh yeah, THAT'S the stuff! It's about time we had got some decent action around here!"

"Danielle!" Danny exclaimed, still stunned by her sudden appearance.

"Hi." Danielle replied with a simple grin.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Danny scolded, even as two more gangs of guards were advancing down the street towards them from either side.

"Aren't YOU?" Danielle argued back. "Look, I missed out on the last three ghost fights, okay? If you think I'm sitting THIS one out, you're nuts. Now let's get to whuppin'!"

Having no way of arguing with her and needing all the help he could get, Danny really had no way to reply. He could only let out a heavy sigh as he and Danielle both burst off in their respective directions, bashing into both packs of guards like a pair of cannonballs.

Unfortunately, not far away from where Danny was fighting, Sam wasn't having nearly as smooth a time of things. With people running in all directions like spooked deer and hiding in every nook and cranny they could find, she was finding it impossible to locate an out-of-the-way place to go ghost. But she was soon about to find herself saddled with a bigger problem as she noticed Paulina running past her, straight into the fray.

"Oh, this is so PERFECT!" Paulina squealed as she checked her face in the mirror. With so much chaos going on everywhere, there was no way this fight would be over quickly. No way could she possibly miss her opportunity now.

"Oh-no!" She called out, trying to get Danny's attention, although the monotone in her voice clearly indicated that she was no award-winning actress, "What-is-going-on? Save-me-Danny-Phantom!"

However, the person whose attention she raised wasn't Danny's. Tackling her from behind, Sam rolled her along the street before finally picking her up to drag her to safety.

"What are you doing, you idiot? We've got to get out of here!" Sam exclaimed.

"Get away! You're ruining everything!" Paulina whined, trying to tear herself away and check her face with her compact at the same time. "You almost ruined my makeup!"

"WHAT?" Sam blurted out in shock. "Have you COMPLETELY lost your mind?"

Just then, both girls happened to turn around just in time to see one of Walker's guards towering over them. Sam had been so busy fighting with Paulina that neither one of them had noticed. And as the guard brandished his flashing club, with wicked intentions on his mind, Paulina was completely frozen in place. And there was absolutely nothing Sam could do to react…Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and no way to transform.

Just then, Danny skidded in along the street, throwing his arms around Sam and Paulina and dragging them out of harm's way, just as the blast from the guard's club slammed into the street where they had just been standing. Sliding the girls to a safe stop, Danny instantly whirled around, firing a Ghost Ray blast of his own that sent the guard bouncing along the ground before turning his attention back to Sam and Paulina.

"Are you two okay?" he asked, directing his attention at both of them, for appearance's sake, even as his gaze was squarely on Sam.

"Unnh, I think so," Sam answered as Paulina picked herself up. "I don't get it. What's going on?"

"I don't know," was all Danny could say. Just then, he looked up just in time to see Walker arrive on the scene, overlooking the handiwork of his men.

"But I know who I can ask," he added sternly before turning around to see Sam and Paulina's worried expressions. "Don't worry, everything's going to be okay…"

"…I promise."

Sam couldn't help but feel touched as Danny flashed a confident smile towards her before taking off to get some answers from Walker. Paulina, however, naturally assumed that Danny's smile was meant for her. So as he burst into the sky, neither girl could keep from letting out a unified sigh as the very same words dreamily escaped their lips…

"Oh…I'm gonna MARRY that man."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"NOTHING!"

Floating above Amity Park as the madness reigned below, Walker was truly enjoying the efforts of his forces. That is, until a pair of Ghost Rays drilled into his back. Giving Walker no chance to react, Danny was on him in a flash, pulling him out of the sky and slamming him into the side of a nearby building. And before Walker knew what was happening, Danny had him pinned to the wall with an arm over his throat and a blazing fist pointed just inches from his head.

"Talk fast, Walker!" Danny demanded as his ecto-energy pulsed even brighter. "What's the big idea?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Walker replied, smirking in the face of his situation. "We're searching for an escaped prisoner. And I'm placing this entire area under maximum security lockdown."

"Since when is YOUR prisoner supposed to be MY problem?" Danny asked firmly.

"Simple. The prisoner in question fled to THIS world to escape capture. In my book, that makes you ALL guilty of aiding and abetting a known felon." Walker answered plainly. "But if you don't care for this arrangement, there IS a way you can get out of it."

"You actually think I'm going to cooperate with YOU?" Danny shot back defiantly.

"I don't recall making it a choice," Walker declared, reaching up and snapping his fingers.

"He-eeey!" an all-too familiar voice sounded off down the block, causing Danny to whirl around and see both Sam and Paulina being carried off into the sky by Bullet.

"I have them, Walker!" Bullet declared while Sam, still unable to transform in front of Paulina, could only look at Danny with a powerless shrug.

"Oh-Danny, I'm-so-scared! Please-save-me!" Paulina cried out, still playing the damsel in distress, even as she smiled and waved to him while Sam could only slap her forehead with a groan of exasperation.

"Sam!" Danny cried out as the sight before him finally set in.

"Paulina!" Dash cried out, peeking up from behind the mailbox he'd been hiding behind since Walker's attack began.

Walker, meanwhile, was quick to act on Danny's distraction, grabbing him with ease and tossing him straight into the hood of a parked car. Before Danny could recover, Walker came down, driving the heel of his foot into the back of Danny's head and keeping him pinned where he had landed.

"Twenty-four hours, punk," he decreed, grinding his foot into the back of Danny's skull. "If you don't have my criminal back in my prison in 24 hours, the prom queen and your little sweetheart are the ones who are going to do the time. If I were you, I'd get moving."

With that, Walker took off. Before a stunned Danny could lift his head to look up, Walker, Bullet and the rest of the guards had all disappeared, along with Sam and Paulina. And with nothing but wreckage surrounding him, Danny only felt a wave of helplessness wash over him, hanging his head in failure.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny Phantom: Laws of Attraction  
Part Two  
By Aaron

"Eeeeeeew! Do all these walls have to be so dingy? I at least hope you're taking us someplace that has some nice color in it. And would it kill you to put in some windows and let a little natural light in? Maybe the goth geek doesn't care about being white as a sheet, but I need to keep up my youthful complexion!"

It had been going on like this, pretty much since Walker had returned to the Ghost Zone, holding Sam and Paulina captive. Ever since they'd arrived at Walker's prison, there hadn't been a single thing that Paulina hadn't been whining or complaining about. And as she and Sam were being firmly led down the halls, with Paulina griping all the way, even Walker, who prided himself on his meticulous patience, found himself reaching his very last nerve.

"Sir? Permission to gag the detainee," one of the guards finally asked.

"Granted," Walker replied, his straightforward tone disguising his profound relief.

"THANK you!" Sam sighed heavily, rolling her eyes and shaking her head as Bullet tore off a piece of his cape to use as a handkerchief.

"You think you're all so tough," Paulina continued on, even as the fabric was fixed over her mouth. "Just wait until Danny Phantom comes for mvvvv…hvv hv hvv HVVVV hvv hv hv hvv!"

"Oh, my dear…I'm COUNTING on it," Walker replied with a hint of menace as Paulina could no longer speak. "Take her to the cell at the end of the hall."

With only her high-pitched mumbles as protest, Paulina was dragged off by two of Walker's guards. Walker and Bullet, however, accompanied Sam with two other guards to the dank, empty room that would be her cell.

"I think you'll find that escaping from these premises won't be as easy as you've experienced in the past." Walker declared. "Seeing as how you humans have this annoying trait of being intangible in my prison, I arranged for the construction of this whole new wing, specifically to hold the likes of you."

"Wow, don't I just feel special," Sam remarked sarcastically.

"You'll get over it," Walker replied, "Especially when that Danny Phantom punk comes back with my prisoner."

"Oh, so you're NOT going to let us go then," Sam worked out dryly. "Well, color me shocked."

"I'm not required to honor any deals with established felons like the two of you," Walker answered, smirking in Sam's face. "And once he gets here, you'll ALL be right where I want you."

"Uh huh…you actually think he's gonna fall for the same routine he saw through the first time?" Sam asked cynically, remembering Walker's similar attempt to trap Danny during the Wulf incident at Lake Eerie.

"Oh, I have no doubt he'll be expecting a trap. But something tells me he'll come through for you, regardless," Walker responded before turning his back to her, taking a passing glance over his shoulder. "After all, I saw enough of how he reacted around you the last time you were both here to know how much you mean to him."

"The simple truth is…you're one of the few REAL weaknesses he has."

With that, Walker continued down the hall, followed by Bullet and then by Sam, being forcibly led by two guards. For the moment, Sam certainly seemed to be in a tight spot. And yet, for some reason, she seemed strangely calm.

What Walker HADN'T realized was that his brief conversation with Sam had told her more than he meant it to. Since Walker usually kept himself so isolated from the rest of the Ghost Zone, he was usually several steps behind everyone else in terms of current events. So Sam had actually suspected that he might not have yet learned about the ghost powers she had also acquired. And everything she had seen and heard so far from Walker seemed to indicate that her theory was correct.

"'Weakness', huh?" she uttered under her breath, flashing a wicked smirk as her eyes glowed green for the briefest of moments. "We'll just see about THAT."

* * *

"Okay, we're moving as many people as we can to the City Hall bunker" Valerie reported, touching based with Danny, Tucker and Danielle. "That should keep Walker from picking up any more hostages."

"Well, that's a start," Danny noted. "The only issue now is finding that escaped fugitive Walker's looking for."

"Wait a minute…you're actually going to do his bidding on this one?" Tucker had to ask. "Even if you find this ghost, you don't really think Walker's going to keep his word, do you?"

"After that business at Lake Eerie, not in a million years," Danny replied. "But the bottom line is, some of the ghosts who end up in Walker's prison actually DESERVE to be there. If this ghost is one of those, I don't want him here."

"And if he's not?" Danielle suggested.

"That's why I need YOU guys to look for him, to keep him safe," Danny answered. "I'm going to the Ghost Zone. If I can get Sam and Paulina out, we won't have to bring the other ghost back."

"YOU'RE GOING TO WHAT?" Tucker and the girls blurted out in shock.

"You're actually going to storm Walker's prison?" Tucker exclaimed.

"It's the last thing he'll expect," Danny explained. "Walker likes to be in control of every situation. That's why he left after he grabbed Sam and Paulina. He's thinks he's already got me under his thumb. But he doesn't plan for surprises. A rescue operation might be just the thing to catch him off-guard."

"You STILL can't go in there alone," Valerie objected. "Why not let US go with you and…?"

"No, the more people we have focused on catching this other ghost, the better. There's no telling how dangerous he might be," Danny argued. "Besides, a 'smash-and-grab' job won't work with Walker. I'll need stealth to get into the prison, so I've got a better chance of that by tackling this solo. And anyway, if I'm right, I won't BE alone once I get in there."

"You're talking about Sam," Tucker pointed out. "You don't think Walker knows about her ghost powers?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. Walker DOES keep himself pretty closed-in. It tends to leave him out of the loop," Danny reasoned. "And if I know Sam, she's already thinking about escaping right now. If I can get to her fast, we can back each other up."

Before there could be any more protests, Danny was already flying away and gone, leaving Tucker and the others behind. Well, maybe not ALL of the others. Peering from behind a nearby alley, Dash was intently watching the conversation before following Danny as he flew off, running behind as fast as he could. He had been too far away to hear what Danny and the others were saying. But he knew that Danny Phantom was the best chance to taking on that skull-faced creep and getting Paulina back safe. So wherever Danny was going, Dash was going, too.

* * *

It was only a matter of minutes before Danny found his way back to Fenton Works and straight down to the Fenton Portal in the lab. Opening the doors, he readied himself to jump straight in and head straight to Walker's prison. Just then, he felt the presence of something behind him, causing him to whirl around, his blazing fists ready to unleash a pair of searing Ghost Rays.

"WHOA!" Dash just barely managed to blurt out before bracing himself on his knees to catch his breath, winded at having chased after Danny so far. "Dude, it's…it's me…remember? What…what are you doing at…Fenton's place?"

"Oh! Well…," Danny stuttered, not expecting to have to come up with a "secret identity" story. "I…come here to…use…the…Ghost Portal! Yeah, it's…the…only way I can get into the Ghost Zone. They…don't know I use it. But forget about me. What are YOU doing here?"

"Simple. I figured you were going after Paulina, so I wanted to come with you," Dash replied, causing Danny to raise a stunned eyebrow.

"YOU…want to go with ME…in THERE?" he uttered.

"Why not?" Dash asserted. "Come on, man, it's just like that time you and I got shrunk together. Remember that?"

"Yes I DO and NO, it's NOT," Danny argued, giving Dash a firm poke in the chest. "Trust me, if you saw where I'm going, you'd WISH you were dealing with that again."

"I don't care!" Dash shouted in protest. "Look, man, don't ask me why, 'cause I don't even know why. But…Paulina's in there and she needs help and I just…I NEED this, okay?"

Danny didn't answer right away. He only spent a long, lingering moment, looking at Dash's face. His expression never wavered for an instant. Danny could even detect a slight hint of pleading in his eyes. And once he realized that, Danny's own eyes went wide.

"You know what the weird thing is?" he remarked in bewildered surprise. "I think I actually BELIEVE you."

"So?" Dash pressed, causing Danny to pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh in submission.

"Oh…I'm gonna regret this," he muttered before flying behind Dash and picking him up under his arms. "Alright, but from here on out, I'M in charge. You don't say or do ANYTHING unless I tell you to, get it?"

"Got it," Dash replied. And with that, he took a deep breath and braced himself for anything that might come their way as Danny flew them both into the portal.

* * *

Back in Walker's prison, Sam had been patiently biding her time, waiting for the right opportunity to make her move. However, it definitely wasn't easy. From the moment she'd been tossed into her cell, the only thing Sam wanted to do was walk right back out again and start busting heads. But she couldn't risk tipping her hand too soon. As soon as Walker found out about her ghost powers, her element of surprise would be lost. And Sam knew good and well that advantage would be the only thing that would even give her a fighting chance of getting out. Luckily, it looked as though she would get her chance before too much longer.

But after a while, it began to look like Walker's men were sinking into their normal routine. Most of them had gradually drifted back into other areas of the prison. In fact, Sam's lone guard appeared to be none other than Bullet, who had been charged by Walker to personally see to Sam's confinement. But no matter who it was, Sam was perfectly happy to have only one guard to deal with. It only made her chances of taking him out before Walker could be called in that much better. With that, Sam decided to set her escape plan into motion, cracking her knuckles before casually swaggering towards the cell door.

"Just for the sake of conversation, you KNOW you're not going to get away with this, right?" she called outside to Bullet, who merely responded with a smug huff.

"Oh please. You're dreaming if you think you're actually scaring me, little girl," he taunted, feeling quite secure with the current situation.

"Really…?" Sam responded plainly.

Before Bullet could even think of replying, Sam's arm phased through the cell door, grabbing him by his cape and pulling him inside. And the next thing Bullet knew, he was inside the cell, shockingly staring eye-to-eye with Sam in her ghost form, who flashed a demonic smile as she pulled back a blazing fist and her voice lowered to a malevolent hiss.

"…Then I guess I'll just have to try a little HARDER."

WHAM!

From there, all that could be heard inside the cell were the sounds of crashing thuds and pained grunts. Mere moments later, an overpowered Bullet was tossed, groaning, into a nearby empty ghost cell by Sam, who promptly slammed the door behind her before clapping off her hands.

"There. I got to hurt someone. I feel better." She thought out loud, feeling quite satisfied before darting her gaze around. "Now…let's see about finding my way out of this little Funhouse."

"You creeps will never get away with this!" a familiar whiny voice then drifted into Sam's ears as she turned to hear Paulina carrying on from her cell at the end of the corridor. "You just wait until Danny Phantom comes to rescue me! THEN you'll be sorry!"

"Oh right…HER," Sam muttered uncomfortably. For a moment, she merely stared hesitantly down the hall, almost as if she was trying to come up with some genuine reason not to come to Paulina's aid. But after a few seconds, she could only hang her head in submission and let out a heavy sigh.

"Aw, darn it," she groaned, slumping her shoulders as she began to float towards Paulina's cell. "Sometimes, I REALLY wish I wasn't a better person."

As Paulina continued to pound on her cell door and carry on, the two guards outside both had had just about enough. Unable to stomach Paulina's constant racket, they could only wince as they held their hands firmly over their ears, hoping desperately for some relief.

"Unnh…That's it! I'm putting in a request to get this brat in suspended animation!" the first guard declared as he reached for his transmitter.

"What?" the other guard called out, his hands still covering his ears and unable to hear anything.

Suddenly, before anything else could be done, a pair of Sam's Ghost Ray Strands whipped out, tightly wrapping up both guards and dragging them around the corner with a combined yelp. From inside her cell, Paulina's ranting was finally stopped as she paused to hear the sounds of crashing and fighting coming from outside. And her heart instantly quickened as she guessed that it could only be one person.

"Oh Danny!" she cried out, her voice fluttering as she ran to the door. "I just KNEW you'd come for me! There was never a doubt in my…!"

However, Paulina's delight was quickly silenced when it was Sam who phased through the door. Face to face with the one person she wasn't expecting, Paulina could only drop her jaw in shock as her eyes went wide.

"Come on," Sam announced, holding her hand out to Paulina as she worked to maintain her cover. "We don't have much time. Danny's already getting the other girl out of here, I came to get you."

"Uuuuuhhhh, yeah…about that…Danny…IS coming back, right?" Paulina asked with a pause, this time making it Sam's turn to drop her jaw as Paulina did a poor job of hiding which one she REALLY wanted to come to her rescue.

"…you're kidding, right…?" Sam uttered, almost dumbfounded. "You're getting a lifeline just handed to you with candy and flowers and you're just going to toss it back because it's not the kind you WANT? PLEASE tell me you're not REALLY that stupid!"

"Ex-CUSE me, I will have you know that…Whuuaa!" Paulina began to argue. But Sam wasn't about to hear any of it as she snatched Paulina by her shirt and phased back outside, heaving Paulina with her.

* * *

"How're you holding up there, champ?" Danny asked as he flew Dash through the swirling expanse of the Ghost Zone.

Dash, however, couldn't come up with any kind of coherent answer. He could only dangle from Danny's grip, shuddering and whimpering at every shrieking, cackling thing that happened to drift past.

To Danny, Dash's behavior came as no surprise. In fact, Danny would have bet anything that Dash would have been screaming his head off within five minutes and that he would end up having to take him home. Yet, despite how clearly terrified he was, Dash was managing to keep himself ALMOST under control. It takes a tremendous force of will to press on in the face of such an onslaught on the senses. And admittedly, Danny couldn't help but be somewhat impressed by Dash's determination. But as they reached the outskirts of Walker's domain, he could only hope that their luck held out. The last thing they needed was for Dash to lose himself now.

Thinking quickly, Danny turned them both invisible for the duration of the journey. Being so close to their destination, they couldn't risk being detected now. Eventually, they reached Walker's prison and Danny quickly dove underneath, riding along the edge of the floating land mass that held it before finally coming up just by one of the side walls.

"Okay, we're here," Danny whispered, placing Dash on the ground before keeping tight to the wall, avoiding the searchlights.

"So…how do we get in?" Dash asked. "It's not like we can just walk up to the door and knock,"

"Hmmmm," Danny mused before an idea struck, causing him to turn to Dash with a sly grin, "Say…did you know that humans can walk through walls here?"

"Huh…? Hey!" a confused Dash suddenly blurted out as Danny simply pushed him through the outer wall. And before Dash had a chance to pick his face up off the ground, Danny had turned human, jumped through the wall and transformed back into his ghost form again.

"Dude! How about a little warning next time, huh…?" Dash complained in between sputtering up dirt until Danny firmly pinched his lips shut.

"Remember that nice little conversation we had about not saying anything unless I tell you to?" he warned before focusing his attention on the task at hand. With that, he and Dash both made their way to the inner housing of the prison itself, still keeping tight to the far wall.

* * *

"I can't believe you guys just let Danny take off like that!" Jazz scolded to Tucker, Valerie and Danielle in the back of the Fenton RV as it rocketed out of town. "I've heard the horror stories about Walker's prison! What were you thinking?"

"YOU try stopping him next time!" Tucker argued. "You know how he gets whenever Sam's involved! There was no changing his mind, alright?"

"Everyone just calm down!" Maddie intervened, riding in the passenger side alongside Jack, who was driving at top speed. "Our handheld scanner is picking up two suspicious readings just northeast of here. One of them could be our mystery fugitive."

"Ooooooo…Hang on kids! We're off-roadin'!" Jack announced, impulsively swerving off the road before anyone had a chance to object.

What happened next was almost a din of bumps, crashes and screams as the Fenton RV hurtled into the woods. After what seemed like an eternity, the vehicle finally emerged into a clearing, where Jack finally pulled to a stop.

"Sssssshhhhh…It's close," he uttered under his breath.

Jack stared out into the wilderness with the predatory instincts of a hunter as the scanner indicated the ghost was only a few short yards away. However, the others could make no such claim as they were dazedly trying to recover from the jarring experience they'd just had.

"Uh, Jack? You DID know that there was a turnoff road about 50 yards from where you veered off, right?" Maddie noted, finally getting her bearings.

"That's it!" Jazz protested, reaching over into the glove compartment and pulling out a small box. "YOU guys hunt the ghost! I'M going to install this GPS we bought you for Father's Day last year that you haven't even looked at since!"

After finally preparing themselves, Jack, Maddie, a transformed Danielle and an armored Valerie were all outside, each pacing slowly from the RV as they scanned every inch of the area in front of them for any signs of activity. Meanwhile, Tucker, who had been in too much of a hurry to pick his robot up from City Hall, was inside the RV helping Jazz install the GPS system.

"Honestly, I REALLY can't figure those two out sometimes!" Jazz complained as she and Tucker finished the wiring. "I mean, they'll spend weeks trying to cram another ghost-hunting contraption into this thing, but they can't take FIVE MINUTES to…! There we go."

Jazz couldn't help but feel a slight sense of accomplishment as the GPS screen winked to life. Tucker, however, had a far less plucky reaction when he scanned the display and noticed a landmark in the top corner.

"Uh…does that say what I think it does?" he asked, pointing at the screen and getting Jazz's attention.

"Lake…Eerie," Jazz read carefully. "Hey, isn't that where you guys went to summer camp last…?"

"…Oh, no…," Tucker shuddered, his eyes going wide before whirling around and racing out of van after Jack and the others. "GUUUUUUUUUYYYS!"

"Jack…there's something right over there," Maddie whispered, her handheld scanner indicating the presence of a ghostly being behind a line of still bushes.

"Guys!" Tucker cried out behind them as he ran up as fast as he could as the bush suddenly began to shiver. "Guys, wait!"

"SHOOT FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER!" Jack and Danielle shouted, both firing into the bush from Jack's blaster and Danielle's Ghost Rays.

Just then, an enormous dark mass shot out from the bushes, dodging Jack and Danielle's combined blast and slamming into its attackers. Jack, Maddie and Valerie were sent flying, bouncing along the ground before finally picking themselves up to see Danielle pinned to the ground by a pair of huge black paws that looked almost like hands. And Danielle, herself, could only lie frozen on the ground as the enormous head of Wulf angrily growled down at her before viciously roaring into her face.

"Jack, it's that ghost that attacked Casper High last year!" Maddie shouted in panic. "AND HE'S GOT DANIELLE!"

"Back off, Fido!" Jack hollered as he, Maddie and Valerie trained all their weapons in Wulf's direction. "Nobody makes one of Jack Fenton's kids into their own personal chew toy!"

"DON'T SHOOT!" Tucker cried out as he and Jazz arrived on the scene, jumping into the middle of the fray and turning to Wulf. "Wulf, stop! It's me, Tucker! Remember, one of the good guys? _Via Amiko_?"

"_Amiko_?" Wulf grumbled curiously, seeming to calm down.

Just then, something else seemed to catch Wulf's attention. After taking a pair of curious sniffs, his attention turned down to Danielle, who was still pinned under him. Shivering at the towering mass of fur and fangs staring down at her, Danielle could only wince in fright as Wulf lowered his head towards her. But as Wulf leaned in and began sniffing Danielle intently, the reaction on his face became even more perplexed.

"Mmm…? Dan-ny?" he asked, looking back over to Tucker in confusion. "_Kial malgranda knabino flari simila Danny_?"

"Trust me, there's a perfectly good explanation why she smells like Danny," Tucker answered. "But right now, you just need to calm down."

With that, Wulf backed away, allowing Danielle to scramble to her feet to safety. That crisis averted, Tucker wiped his brow with a sigh of relief, only to turn into the stern faces of Jack and the others which indicated that he had just walked into another one.

"Uh, Tucker?" Jazz pointed out. "Something tells me you've got a LOT of explaining to do."

* * *

Back at the prison, Danny and Dash had both managed to find their way inside and were carefully making their way along the corridors. So far, they were doing a decent job of going unnoticed. But a recent guard Danny noticed standing watch around a nearby corner quickly put their plans in jeopardy.

"Wait here. Don't…make…a sound," Danny whispered as he blocked Dash's way.

Leaving a nervous Dash behind, Danny sneaked to the corner, peering around ever-so cautiously to ensure that the guard wouldn't notice. Once he saw the guard hadn't moved, Danny put his strategy into action. And for a brief moment, his eyes glowed blue as a tiny ball of his freezing ecto-energy gathered in his hand, about the size of a golf ball. Then once again, being as careful as he could he leaned down and gently rolled the ball along the floor of the prison, coming to a stop directly under the guard.

"Hmm…?" was all the guard could let out before the sphere burst underneath him, trapping him in a man-sized glacier. With the guard incapacitated, Danny came around the corner, snapping the guard's club out of his frozen hand.

"Here, this will help," he explained as he handed the club to Dash, who had just come up behind him. "Just press the button on the side here and it'll send out a beam that traps ghosts, okay?"

"HEY!" a second guard shouted from behind, coming around the corner from the hall where Danny and Dash had just been.

"Kind of like now," Danny added. "Hit him, Dash!"

Dash, however, could only stand frozen in fear as the guard acted on instinct and charged ahead with weapon in hand, bearing down on him. While Dash cried out and threw up his arms to protect himself, Danny reacted, leaping to the side in order to get Dash out of his line of fire and throwing out his arm, unleashing a wave of freezing ecto-energy. And a split-second later, the second guard also found himself trapped in ice, unable to attack, call for backup or warn Walker.

Even as he breathed a sigh of relief, Dash couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of himself. After all, Danny had reacted to the situation so quickly, while he just stood there, trembling like a newborn puppy. What kind of heroic rescue could he call that?

Danny was right. At that moment, Dash DID wish he was back to being the size of an insect, running from rats and golf balls. He should have just stayed home, where it was safe.

"Thanks, dude," Dash muttered, hanging his head.

"Are…you okay?" Danny had to ask.

"NO! I'm scared to death! I have been since I got here!" Dash complained before letting out a groan. "You were right, man. I'm no good to anyone like this. I came here to try and help Paulina and I can't even help MYSELF. I…I guess I was just trying to look good in front of her…you know? And we can BOTH see how THAT'S turning out."

"It's no wonder she likes YOU. With all your powers, you can save anyone anytime you want," Dash continued with a heavy sigh. "I can't compete with that."

"Dash…listen to me," Danny interrupted, putting his hand on Dash's shoulder. "Yes, it's EASY to save people when you can fly through walls at 100 miles an hour or lift a school bus over your head. But take it from me…when you CAN'T do things like that and you try anyway, that's the REALLY heroic thing to do. You don't think it took guts for you to get this far? How many other people would have been begging me to take them home by now? Okay, so you're scared. That's fine, accept it. You're still here, aren't you? Hold onto that."

Upon hearing Danny's words, Dash managed to lift his head and look back towards him with a faint grin. Danny meanwhile, wanted nothing more than to punch himself in the face, showing kindness to Dash Baxter, of all people. But now wasn't the time to be childish and petty.

"Come on," he declared, heading down the hall with Dash close behind. "We're not done yet."

* * *

"Where ARE we?" Paulina protested under her breath as she and Sam slowly made their way through the prison corridors. "Shouldn't we have been out of here by now?"

"Well, maybe if I didn't have to keep stopping to SHUT YOU UP!" Sam hissed as she whirled around into Paulina's face. "I'm surprised they haven't caught us by now with all the whining you've been doing."

"Or maybe you just don't have what it takes," Paulina argued. "I'm sure if Danny Phantom was here, he'd have gotten us out of here by now."

"Yeah, probably because you're so obsessed with him, you wouldn't have been wasting all his time thinking up new things to gripe about every 10 seconds!" Sam shot back.

"Obsessed?" Paulina objected.

"Oh please, don't even TRY to deny it. I've been reading you like a pop-up book ever since I came to get you," Sam answered dismissively, working to maintain her secret identity. "What do you even see in him, anyway? I mean, okay, I'll admit he's CUTE. But…other than that…?"

"Are you kidding?" Paulina responded, "You know who you're talking about, right? We're talking about a boy who saved the entire world! Not to mentioned he's come and saved ME more than once. He's just like…a knight in shining armor. And the whole world knows who he is. Can you imagine what people would say if they see a guy like that hanging off your arm? What kind of girl WOULDN'T want that?"

Paulina felt pretty satisfied with her answer as she proceeded onward down the corridor. But her outlook soon changed as she heard some snickering behind her, followed by light chuckles. By the time she whirled around, Sam was already in a full-blown howl of laughter, having to lean against the nearest wall to keep herself upright.

"What's so funny?" Paulina complained as Sam gradually struggled to regain her composure.

"Are you LISTENING to yourself?" Sam blurted out with a final giggle before finally getting her head right. "You make him sound like a piece of jewelry. Seriously, what would you actually DO with a guy like that? Keep him locked inside a big music box in your room until you're ready to take him out and impress your friends? Are you seriously going to look me in the eye and tell me that's REALLY enough for you? That you'd rather settle for some fantasy to make you look good instead of someone who would actually do anything to make you happy? Because if you are, that is EXTREMELY sad."

There was really nothing Paulina could say at first. She could only stand there, taken aback by what Sam said. Suddenly, a more assertive look crossed her face. It seemed like recently, everyone was going out of their way to tell her that her perspective was wrong, even if they didn't mean to. First, it was all the kids in school, who were all fawning over what a great relationship Danny and Sam had, and now this ghost girl. And if Paulina knew anything at that moment, it was that she really didn't feel like being lectured anymore.

"What do you know?" she grumbled, turning and walking away.

"About love?" Sam uttered silently as she watched Paulina storm off, "You have NO idea."

* * *

"So…if he's from Walker's prison, how do we know he's NOT the guy Walker's after?" Valerie had to ask.

"I don't think Walker waited around all these months just to try and go after Wulf now," Tucker replied. "Whoever this is, something tells me this was a recent escape."

"Well, our scanner DID pick up two readings while we were on our way over here," Maddie noted, looking at the remains of the scanner, which had been smashed during Wulf's initial attack. "Not that that's any good to us now."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. I think we've got something almost as good," Tucker assured, nudging his head over in Wulf's direction.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Valerie had to ask uneasily.

"Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" Danielle's pouting voice caught everyone's attention as they turned to see her rubbing Wulf's belly, while he happily lay flopped on his back, his tongue hanging out and his leg twitching. "Yes you are. Yeeeeesss you ARE."

"Something tells me that won't be a problem," Jazz replied as she and the others simply looked on dumbfounded.

"What? You live on the streets for six months, you get used to dealing with strays," Danielle explained, giggling as Wulf gratefully licked her cheek.

"Well, we've got him to LIKE us," Maddie remarked. "Now we have to get him to UNDERSTAND us. Jack?"

"On it," Jack replied, putting his weapons away and trying to remain as non-threatening as possible as he walked over to Wulf. "_Saluton, Amiko. Vi helpi trovi fantomo_?"

Wulf simply responded with a toothy smile and an affirmative growl before diving to the ground. After a few moments of sniffing around, it looked like he had finally caught a scent and slowly made his way into the bush, with the others close behind.

"Wait a minute," Jazz had to ask in surprise. "Dad speaks Esperanto? How does Dad know Esperanto?"

"I have a whole secret life you know NOTHING about," Jack announced proudly while Maddie simply replied with a reassuring smile in Jazz's direction.

* * *

"Dude, it feels like we've been walking forever," Dash remarked, feeling himself getting tired. "Where ARE we anyway? I thought you said you'd been here before."

"I have," Danny answered, trying to sound reassuring. "Relax, okay? I'll get us through this."

"If only I was half as confident as I sounded," he thought to himself, muttering under his breath. "Everything here is different. It's almost like the interior shifted since the last time I was here. Is that how the prison works? Keep altering all the halls and corridors so no one can plan escape routes?"

Still keeping his back turned so Dash couldn't see how exasperated he was, Danny leaned against the nearest wall and let out a heavy sigh. After all, he had absolutely no idea what to do next. There was only one thing he could whisper as he closed his eyes, hoping for some kind of miracle…

"Sam, where do I go? HELP-ME."

Suddenly, like a bolt of lighting arcing along water, Danny felt something streaking through the walls of Walker's prison. At that moment, Danny felt like he was traveling through the halls at the speed of light while standing absolutely still. At first, he had no idea what was happening, until he turned a corner and found himself coming right up behind…!

Just then, Sam gasped in shock as she felt a sudden jolt up her spine. Whirling around, she was even more surprised when it dawned on her what that feeling was.

"Danny?" she exclaimed.

"Sam," Danny whispered in relief before turning to Dash. "Let's go!"

"Hey, where are you going?" Dash called after him, trying to keep up.

"Trust me, okay?" Danny answered, running at top speed.

"What did you say?" Paulina asked from her and Sam's corridor as Sam still had her back turned, rooted to the spot.

"This way!" Sam shouted, running down the corridor.

"What? But we just CAME from there!" Paulina argued in confusion.

"Just move!" Sam fired back, forcing Paulina to trot off after her, not wanting to be left alone.

For Dash and Paulina, the situation couldn't have been more confusing. With each twist and turn they took, it only felt as though they were getting more lost by the second. But for Danny and Sam, the path to finding each other couldn't have been any clearer. In fact, they might as well have been staring at each other from across an empty room. In fact, a few short moments later, staring at each other across an empty room was something that actually happened as they both rounded the corner into an adjoining hall and found themselves on opposite sides.

"Told you I knew where I was going," Danny remarked in Dash's direction.

"Danny…," Sam sighed as they both ran towards each other.

At that moment, Sam completely forgot herself. She didn't even think to ask why Dash was running around the prison with Danny. She didn't even think to remember that Paulina was right behind her. All she wanted to do was throw her arms around him and not let go.

However, someone else had the same idea. As the pair were just a few feet away and before Sam could even throw out her arms, Paulina came flying in from behind, tackling Danny to the ground. The next thing anyone knew, Danny was sprawled on the ground, with Paulina's arms around his neck, snuggling against his cheek.

"Oh, Danny," she cooed. "I just KNEW you'd come for me."

No one knew exactly how to react at that moment. Dash could only hang his head and look away. Danny could only look up at Sam and offer a bewildered shrug, not sure exactly how to react. Sam, meanwhile, found her mind yanked back to reality and managed to keep herself centered, even though she wanted nothing more than to send her fist screaming at Paulina's head. But they were all about to have more serious concerns…

"Hey, look. It's Danny Phantom!" a trembling, high-pitched voice sounded beside them, causing Danny and Sam to turn and see a pair of shadowy figures inside a cell.

"Uh, Danny…don't we know those guys?" Sam had to ask as Danny pulled away from Paulina, staring into the cell intently.

A moment, later, the two figures approached the cell and Danny quickly did recognize them both. Looking through the bars with desperate eyes were the midget acrobat, Green Kid, and the huge strongman, Goliath, two former ghostly performers of Freakshow's Circus Gothica.

"I can't believe you're actually here," Green Kid uttered with great relief. "Does that mean she got away? Where is she? Did she find you?"

"'She'? 'She' who?" Danny asked in confusion.

"Danny…there's only two of them in there," Sam pointed out. "Aren't they missing somebody?"

"Yeah…but then, that means Walker's escaped fugitive is…," Danny realized as he and Sam gave each other an instantly worried look. "…Oh, no…"

* * *

Back in the woods outside Lake Eerie, Wulf continued leading Tucker, Valerie and the Fentons through the heavy bush, still on the trail of the scent he was following. A few moments later, they reached another clearing, where Wulf's demeanor immediately changed with a triumphant growl, pointing towards another group of bushes.

"Alright, now let's take this one a little more carefully, okay?" Maddie whispered as she and the others got their weapons at the ready. "Now, one three…one…two…"

Suddenly, before Maddie could finish her thought, a ghostly arm came stretching out of the bushes, grabbing her bazooka out of her hands and snapping right back out of sight. A moment later, a ghostly figure came leaping out into view, revealing itself to be none other than Circus Gothica's rubbery contortionist, Elastica.

"Wait a minute. I remember you," Tucker exclaimed. "You're one of Freakshow's old circus performers!"

"You're not taking me back!" Elastica shouted with an angry scowl, throwing Maddie's bazooka into Jack and sending him sprawling to the ground.

Valerie instantly sprang into action, opening a laser cannon from her wrist. Unfortunately, Elastica was that much faster, slithering around and wrapping her arms and legs around Valerie's just as she was about to fire and redirecting her attack. The laser blast slammed into the ground right in front of Danielle and Wulf, sending them both flying before either one of them knew what was happening. And Valerie was quick to follow as Elastica's rubbery body launched her into the air like a slingshot.

Maddie was the first member of the team to finally launch a successful attack, sending a crushing kick straight down onto Elastica's neck. However, a crushing attack is of little value to someone who can't be crushed and Elastica simply responded with a stern frown before recoiling Maddie's kick right back and sending her spiraling. From there, Elastica threw out her arm extending around Maddie's grounded leg before she had a chance to recover. And as Elastica pulled back hard, Maddie was sent spinning like a top along the forest floor, her outwardly stretched leg colliding with the side of Jack's head just as he was picking himself up. A few seconds later, Maddie's spin finally ground to a halt, causing her to wobble dizzily before finally collapsing.

It was then that Wulf had managed to recover, leaping into the fray and binding Elastica in a powerful bear hug. For a moment, it looked as Wulf had finally brought the fight to an end as Elastica struggled with all her might to escape. But after a few seconds, Elastica finally managed to get one arm free. And one arm was all she needed as she stretched it over 100 feet into the air before snapping it back, sending her fist screaming back down to earth before driving it straight into Wulf's skull. The impact hit with the force of a pile driver, kicking up a powerful shockwave which rocked Wulf's entire body, sending him into a daze as he weakly released his grip and teetered back and forth before finally crumpling to the ground.

More and more it was beginning to look like Elastica was completely unstoppable. Just then, she was slammed in the chest by three powerful blasts, courtesy of Danielle's Ghost Rays and Tucker and Jazz, who managed to recover Jack and Maddie's weapons. The combined attack sent Elastica flying into a nearby tree, where Valerie pressed the advantage, flying back in on her rocket sled and driving it into the trunk, keeping Elastica pinned. From there, it was Jack and Maddie's turn, each grabbing one of Elastica's arms and running them over to nearby trees, tying them around the trunks with tight knots.

"Okay, are we finally done now? Not that I'd mind too much if you said we weren't," Danielle remarked with blazing fists as Wulf growled menacingly into Elastica's face.

"I don't care what you say," Elastica shot back defiantly. "But I am NOT going back to Walker! If I have to, I'll…!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tucker interrupted, stepping in. "Hang on! No one said anything about taking you anywhere. Look, you recognize me, right? I was with Danny Phantom when we helped you guys get away from Freakshow, remember?"

"Yyyyyeeeeeaaah…," Elastica answered pensively.

"Then believe me…we want to help you again," Tucker continued. "But you've gotta talk to us first, okay? Just…tell us what happened."

* * *

Back in Walker's prison, a lone guard was happening upon the prison wing Walker had devised to detain human prisoners. Floating along the corridor leading to the wing, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. Just then, he heard a painful groan from the cell he was passing.

"…Guard…Guard…!"

"Pipe down, lowlife! Do you seriously think I'm going to…!" the guard began to taunt, until the figure inside the cell lurched toward the bars, revealing himself to be none other than Bullet.

"Bullet!" the guard blurted out in shock, opening the cell door and helping him up. "What happened?"

"Call Walker…," Bullet muttered, still in a daze. "…We've got a big problem…"

* * *

"So…you WERE one of the ghosts committing all those robberies when that circus was in town," Maddie noted as a freed Elastica was sitting down on a nearby rock.

"It was never supposed to be like that, believe me," Elastica explained, hanging her head. "Look, it's kind of a long story and I've been going all day. Do you mind if I just get comfortable for a minute?"

Tucker and the others viewed Elastica's question with suspicious and uncertain looks, none of them completely trusting what she was about to do next. But Elastica's definition of comfortable soon became quite apparent as she tied her arms, legs, stomach and neck up in knots.

"Oh yeah," she sighed blissfully as she leaned back. "That's heaven."

"Oooookaaaaaaayyyy," Jazz replied, tossing a nervous glance towards Tucker, who could only shrug his shoulders in bewilderment.

* * *

"You've gotta understand, Freakshow's family…they really WERE good people," Goliath explained as Danny and Sam listened intently with Dash and Paulina. "I mean, we LOVED them. Before that little brat took over, we actually felt like we were part of their family."

"Uh huh…what about that staff?" Sam had to ask, somewhat cynically.

"Well, the staff WAS for controlling ghosts," Green Kid answered. "But…it wasn't for THEM, it was for US. See, we…kinda…have this thing with…stage fright."

* * *

"Stage fright? And you went and joined a circus?" Valerie remarked, tossing a sarcastic "thumbs up", "Goooood career choice."

"What do you want me to tell you? We loved performing. We were just…no good around crowds," Elastica replied. "The truth is, it was all working great, no problems at all. But then that creep's parents died…and everything went to him…"

* * *

"…Including us," Goliath continued. "Before we even knew what was going on, he was using us like puppets."

"Until the staff was destroyed," Danny concluded.

"Look, I know we didn't show it too much. But believe me, you have NO idea how much we owe you for that one," Green Kid went on. "The only thing was…once you had the kid arrested, we were left all alone, for the first time in decades. So we drifted around for the most part, we didn't really have anywhere to go. And then, after the whole 'Pariah Dark' thing, we ended up finding our way back into the Ghost Zone. We figured that would be as good a place as any to figure out what to do next…"

"But then you all drifted into Walker's territory," Sam deduced.

* * *

"The guy's a lunatic!" Elastica cried out. "He locked us up and threw away the key just for BEING there! All he cares about is controlling everything!"

"Yeah, we already know what HE'S all about," Tucker pointed out.

"All that time trapped inside one prison and all we did was end up wandering into another," Elastica continued solemnly. "I thought we were going to rot in there forever. But then, out of nowhere, this ghost portal appeared in our cell."

* * *

"I still don't know how it happened," Goliath noted. "All we did was jump in and the next thing we knew, we were outside the prison walls. We thought it was a miracle."

"Yeah, 'til Walker's goons came after us," Green Kid added. "Goliath and I got caught, but Elastica got away. At least…we HOPED she got away."

* * *

"Then another portal opened up just like the first one did. I jumped through it, I ended up here. And I've been running ever since. The one time I stopped to rest, I ran into you guys." Elastica continued, hanging her head with guilt. "I just…I just wish I could have done something to help the others. I can't believe I just left them like that."

"Hmmmmm," Tucker mused, his gaze shifting over to the others.

It wasn't hard to see what Valerie and the Fentons were thinking, between their brandished weapons and Danielle's hands blazing with ecto-energy. Even Wulf seemed to be the same wavelength as the claws sprang forth from his hands. And once he was confident that they all had the same thought in their heads, Tucker walked over and put his hand on Elastica's shoulder, instantly drawing her gaze.

"What would you say if we told you, you could make it up to them?" Tucker asked with a confident half smile.

* * *

"She's WHAT?" Walker bellowed from inside his office, his hand threatening to crush the intercom microphone he was holding. "Sound the alarm! GET THEM BACK!"

* * *

"Uh, guys? I like 'story time' as much as the next guy," Dash interrupted. "But don't you think it's about time we got out of here?"

Just then, as if in answer to Dash's question, the entire prison sprang to life, with emergency alarms blaring throughout the entire prison.

"That would be a 'Yes'," Sam replied, forming a sliver of her ecto-energy into the lock of Goliath and Green Kid's cell, opening the door to set them free. "And you guys are coming with us."

"No point in being subtle now," Danny remarked, looking up at the ceiling as the shouts of guards could be heard from every corridor. "Going up!"

Between Danny's Ghost Rays, Goliath's fists and Sam's ecto-energy taking the form of a huge hydraulic press, it was only a matter of seconds before a hole was smashed through the ceiling of the prison. With Dash and Paulina in tow, Danny and Sam took off into the open air alongside Green Kid and Goliath, hoping to get as far away from the prison as they possibly could. But just as they had reached the skyline along the top of the prison walls, they instantly found themselves jolted by an invisible barrier, sending them all crashing into the dirt of the courtyard.

"Ooooo-kay," Danny groaned as he and the others dazedly nursed their bumps and scrapes, "THAT was new."

"One good shock deserves another," Walker's voice called out, causing Danny and the others to whirl around and face a small army of his guards, while Walker directed his attention towards Sam. "Seems you're just FULL of unwelcome surprises, aren't you, little lady?"

"Oh, trust me," Sam replied, her eyes glowing orange as her hands ignited with her ghostly flame, "You have NO idea."

Walker, however, didn't so much as bat an eye at Sam's threatening posture. Not when his guards outnumbered Danny and the others, almost 10 to one. With the odds stacked so fully against them, their hopes of a quick escape were beginning to fade fast.

"I'll admit, not the outcome I was planning on," Walker declared with a smirk, snapping his fingers as the signal for his men to advance. "But it'll do for now."

Just as Danny and Sam were wondering what to do next, a blinding white flash sliced through the air behind them, followed by another, and then another. Eventually, the slashes seemed to come together, creating a larger opening. And the light soon began to dull in the center of the opening, showing an image beyond of what looked like earth.

Danny and Sam had seen this effect before. There was only one creature they knew that was capable of such a thing. So it came as no surprise when Wulf leaped through the portal he'd created, rearing back and howling in rage. And yet…how did he know where to find them?

It was then that the REAL surprise came as the Fenton RV came roaring through the hole, with Valerie and Elastica close behind. The size of the vehicle alone explained why Wulf had gone to all the trouble of tearing out such an enormous portal.

"_Lasi ilin havi gin!_" Jack shouted as he emerged from the RV with Maddie leaping in front of him, her double-sided laser staff at the ready.

"You heard the man!" Danielle chimed in, peeking up from over Wulf's shoulder. "Let 'em HAVE it!"

Without a pause, Wulf sprang forward, clawing his way through a line of guards as Danielle fired a barrage of Ghost Rays from either side. At the same time, Valerie streaked overhead, carpet bombing the guards' rear flank with a salvo of missiles and laser blasts. Meanwhile, Maddie provided the melee portion of the strike, taking down guard after guard with her staff while Jack kept her covered with his blaster. Tucker and Valerie, meanwhile maintained rear support and kept Wulf's portal protected with the RV's cache of weapons.

"Guys! Pinball Launcher!" Green Kid shouted over the chaos, curling his body up into a ball.

Realizing they didn't have time for a tearful reunion, Goliath grabbed Green Kid and threw him hard in Elastica's direction. Elastica was quick to respond, grabbing Green Kid in one hand and letting the force of Goliath's throw stretch her hand back as far as it would go. From there, Elastica's arm snapped back sending Green Kid flying with the force of a cannon, sending him hurtling into a wave of guards. With crushing impact, Green Kid ricocheted off each guard's head, causing them all to crumple to the ground before he finally skidded to a stop.

But the performance wasn't over yet. Slamming his hands into the ground, Goliath ripped open a patch of earth, creating a force wave that sent another throng of guards flying into the air. And once again, it was Elastica's turn to act as she took to the sky and stretched out her arm, tightly binding the stunned guards and whipping around before slamming them back to the ground with devastating force.

"Whoa," Sam had to utter in surprise as Elastica came in for a smooth landing. "Those guys are TOUGH."

"Yeah," Danny had to agree. "Kinda makes me glad I only had to fight them when they were brainwashed."

From there, the fight was becoming much more even. With the combined efforts of Danny and the others, Walker's guards were definitely getting a run for their money. In fact, if it weren't for the reality that they were fighting for their lives, it might almost be said that they were almost having fun.

However, two people who definitely weren't having fun were Paulina and Dash. With a battle raging between them and the Fenton RV, all they could do was hide behind large piles of rubble and hope not to be noticed. As Dash peeked out and watched the insanity unfold, it was becoming clearer and clearer that he was in WAY over his head. What could have POSSIBLY possessed him to think that he would be of any use in a super-powered melee like this? Even Paulina was beginning to grasp the reality of the situation. For the longest time, all she could see were the perks that came with having Danny Phantom as a boyfriend…the celebrity, the worldwide fame. But was this the kind of life she'd have to look forward to in order to be with him? What good is having THAT kind of status if you're stuck in a prison cell where no one can see you or if you have your hair singed by a Ghost Ray blast? As much as she didn't want to admit it, Paulina was beginning to think that the price of having Danny Phantom as a boyfriend may be…just MAY be…more than she could afford.

Danny, meanwhile, had less flighty concerns as the tide was quickly turning against Walker's guards. But that was only because he had only just now crossed paths with Walker himself, who had effortlessly grabbed Danny by the neck and lifted him off the ground.

"Don't think this little riot of yours has bought you anything, punk," Walker gloated as he patted the inner pocket of his jacket where he'd been keeping the portable portal generator he'd been given. "Even if you DO get away, now that I can open portals of my own, you and your whole little gang here are soon going to be…AARRR!"

Before Walker had time to finish his boast, he was struck in the side by a blast from one of the Fenton RV's laser cannons, forcing him to drop Danny as he went flying. Bouncing along the ground, Walker finally rolled to a stop before finally sitting up with a dizzy groan. But just then, he heard a metallic crunching sound from inside his jacket. Fearing the worst, Walker reached into his pocket, only to pull out the shattered remains of the portal generator, which had been smashed by the impact of the cannon blast.

"My portal generator!" Walker shouted before turning to Jazz and Tucker in the Fenton RV.

Seething with blind rage, Walker let out a bellow of fury as he fired a pair of massive Ghost Rays in the direction of the RV. Before the Ghost Ray's could hit, Maddie leaped in to cut off the blast, striking down hard with her staff. The beams exploded on impact, sending Maddie flying through the air, limp as a rag doll.

"Maddie!" Jack cried out, tossing his blaster aside to catch her and cradling her in his arms while she let out a stunned groan.

"…Mom…," Danny uttered under his breath before turning his attention to Walker, his eyes turning icy blue and his hands flashing with his freezing ecto-energy.

"Destruction of prison property is AGAINST THE RULES!" Walker snarled, ready to unleash another Ghost Ray stream in the direction of the Fenton RV.

Just then, Walker felt something hook onto his shoulder, whirling him around to see Danny glaring at him with glowing blue eyes, his hands encased in fist-shaped blocks of ice. And before Walker had a chance to react, Danny slammed his first armored fist against Walker's face, sending him reeling. From there, it was one vicious blow after another as Danny swung wildly against Walker's skull. In fact, Danny was punching so hard that the ice fists he had formed were beginning to crack from the impacts. It wasn't until Danny finally whirled around, sending both fists smashing into Walker's face, that the ice fists finally shattered and Walker was sent flying into the wall of the prison.

"Rules? RULES?" Danny furiously shouted down at Walker's prone form. "What do YOU care about rules? You break your precious 'rules' whenever it's convenient. Why don't you just admit it? All rules are to you is an excuse to try and control everyone!"

"YOU'RE THE BIGGEST HYPOCRITE I'VE EVER MET IN MY LIFE!"

Just then, Walker sprang to life with a wild yell, throwing out his arms and sending a Ghost Ray blast straight towards Danny. Fortunately, Danny wasn't about to be caught off guard as he went intangible, allowing the blast to pass harmlessly through him.

Just then, Danny heard a familiar scream behind him. Whirling around, he gasped in shock to see the Ghost Ray blast he had just avoided was now headed straight for Paulina, who was hiding in a pile of rubble right behind him on the far side of the courtyard. And with everyone else scattered around the courtyard in the midst of the battle, there was no one close enough to rescue her…!

"Paulina!" Dash shouted, sprinting out from his own hiding place and scooping Paulina in his arms to safety, just seconds before the blast struck. And as Paulina looked up into the face of her rescuer, even Sam couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief, along with everyone else.

Dash, however, was feeling something else at that moment. It was as if his whole purpose for accompanying Danny to the prison suddenly became clear. It was then that he thought back to what Danny had said to him earlier as they were trying to find Sam and Paulina.

Danny was right…it really didn't take super powers to do something heroic…when it really mattered.

"Dash?" Paulina murmured her voice a mixture of confusion and shock as Dash cradle her in his arms. "You…saved me?"

"Well…yeah," Dash replied with a shrug, as if she even had to ask. "I'd do ANYTHING for YOU, Paulina."

It was then that Paulina was starting to sense something of her own. Thinking back to her earlier conversation with Sam, it was like she was actually HEARING Sam's words come out for the first time…

…"Are you seriously going to look me in the eye and tell me that's REALLY enough for you? That you'd rather settle for some fantasy to make you look good instead of someone who would actually do anything to make you happy?"…

"I was so scared!" Paulina wailed, throwing her arms around Dash's neck and burying her head in his shoulder.

Dash, however, wasn't thinking about comforting Paulina at that moment. Just the fact that she had her arms around him caused him to sigh in pure bliss as his knees began to buckle. But Dash's reaction couldn't have come at a worse time as a second wave of guards, led by a recovered Bullet, suddenly came crashing through the prison doors to back up Walker, who was just getting back to his feet.

"Get weak-kneed later, Lover Boy!" Sam called out, lashing one of her Ghost Ray strands around Dash's waist and tossing her and Paulina into the Fenton RV. "We've gotta go!"

As Danny and Sam caught each other's gaze, it seemed as though they were both sharing the same idea. While everyone else was retreating to the Fenton RV, Sam braced herself firmly and quickly molded her ecto-energy into the form of a giant Gatling gun. Following up, Danny flew in behind her, placing her hands over hers and charging his own ecto-energy to the maximum. Within seconds, the turret on Sam's Ghost Ray construct was already spiraling violently.

"You three, get out of here! We've got you covered!" Danny shouted to the three circus ghosts while he and Sam prepared to fire, even as Elastica was about to object.

"But we can't just leave you…!"

"GO!" Danny and Sam shouted in unison.

Looking at Danny and Sam's blazing eyes was all the reason the trio needed to retreat through the portal. But for Elastica, there was definitely something more at work. It was only for a fraction of a second that she noticed it, barely enough time to say that she'd even seen it at all. But as she saw Danny and Sam pooling their ecto-energy into Sam's Ghost Ray Gatling gun, there was something else happening. Almost like an aura surrounding the two of them. However, she didn't have time to dwell on it as she flew back through Wulf's portal, along with Goliath and Green Kid.

Incensed, Walker was NOT about to lose THREE prisoners along with three OLD ones as he, Bullet and his guards all charged in with a unified cry. However, he wasn't likely to have any say in the matter as Danny and Sam opened fire with their combined attack, unleashing a hail of tiny Ghost Ray bolts.

Ripping through the air, the tiny projectiles of ecto-energy slammed into Walker and his guards, striking with the impact of rubber bullets. And with each target getting struck multiple times, Danny and Sam's unrelenting barrage was nothing short of oppressive. Combined with the blasts from Jack, Maddie, Valerie, Danielle and the Fenton RV, it wasn't long before Walker and his men were left lying dazed and broken in the prison courtyard.

"Too bad, Walker," Danny announced triumphantly, smirking with Sam as Walker uselessly struggled to pick himself up. "Looks like your fugitives just got pardoned."

With that, Danny and Sam flew back through Wulf's ghost portal, joining everyone else on the other side. And as Wulf closed up the portal behind them, Walker, helpless and beaten, could only roar in fury under the stunned mass of his guards.

* * *

The battle was over and Jack and Maddie were taking the others back to Amity Park for some much-needed rest. Danny and Sam, however, stayed with the circus trio as Wulf slashed another portal into the Ghost Zone for them to pass into.

"Okay, I don't think I have to tell you guys to stay FAR away from Walker's territory from now on," Danny noted as the trio passed through. "And whatever you do from here on out…just…make sure you don't get into any trouble, okay?"

"Well, we'll try," Elastica replied with a smirk.

With that, both sides waved their goodbyes as Wulf closed his portal. But as Goliath and Green Kid were about to leave, Elastica found herself taking a lingering look back in the direction the portal.

"Hey, come on," Goliath called to her. "What's the hold up?"

"I'm…just thinking about what happened, right before they got us out," Elastica answered, thinking back to what she saw when Danny and Sam merged their powers. "Did you guys notice anything…strange…about them?"

"No," Green Kid replied with a confused shrug. "Why? What are you talking about?"

"I'm not sure. It's just a feeling I got," Elastica responded, sounding a little bewildered herself. But as the three finally flew off, she found herself adding in another thought just under her breath.

"Still…if I'm right…"

* * *

"Well, this is it. I had Danielle sneak in and pick up as much of it as she could during the fight." Jazz noted as she, Jack and Maddie stood around the tiny pile of wreckage on a table in the Fenton Works' Lab. "I didn't tell her what it was, but no doubt about it, this is a portal generator, alright. The scary thing is there's one person I can think of besides the two of you who could have built something like this."

"Vlad…," Maddie muttered angrily through gritted teeth.

"Should we tell Danny about this?" Jack asked with concern.

"No…not yet," Maddie answered. "Danny's got enough on his mind right now. I don't want to add to his worries…"

"…At least, not until we find out what Vlad's up to."

* * *

The next day of school had come and gone normally enough and Danny was waiting for Sam outside the main doors with Tucker and Valerie. However, the wait was proving to be anything but ordinary as Tucker and Valerie were both staring intently at Tucker's PDA, using a tracer to record Sam's movements through the school halls.

"And that's 10 paces to the left…the one more right," Danny explained, covering his eyes with his hand, yet describing Sam's movements exactly. "And then it's straight down the hall to the doors…and she should be walking out riiiiiiight…aboooouuuut…"

"…Now," Sam announced, walking out the doors and sidling up to Danny.

Immediately, he took his hand away from his eyes and gazed upon Sam with a loving, tender smile. But as the two leaned in to share a soft, lingering kiss, Tucker and Valerie's reactions were nothing even remotely close to loving or tender as they simply stood with wide eyes and hanging jaws.

"Okay, there was NO part of that that was not 100 percent creepy," Valerie shuddered in disbelief.

"Okay, guys, seriously, don't you think this whole 'connection' thing you two have going on is starting to get weird now?" Tucker had to ask as they walked down the steps and off school grounds.

"Actually, the really weird thing is…it DOESN'T feel weird," Danny replied as he and Sam smiled into each others' eyes. "It actually feels kind of natural."

Tucker and Valerie could only share a bewildered gaze, neither one quite sure what to think as Danny and Sam cuddled up close. But they weren't going to have much time to dwell on their worries as Star and Kwan burst out the main doors, getting the attention of all the lingering students.

"Look alive, freaks and geeks!" Star announced acidly as she and Kwan motioned their arms to the main doors. "Presenting Casper High's newest power couple…DASH BAXTER AND PAAAAUUUUUULINAAAAAA!"

Overall, the students weren't quite sure what to think as Dash and Paulina walked out, arm-in-arm, to Star and Kwan's fawning applause. There were even a more than a few uncertain whispers and hushed murmurs, indicating that several weren't entirely sold on the idea. But as Dash cracked his knuckles menacingly, the rest of the students were quick to get on board, joining Star and Kwan in the celebration.

"And thus, the natural order is restored," Tucker commented as he turned and kept walking with Danny Sam and Valerie. After all, this new coupling would most likely spell the end for Danny and Sam's sudden popularity.

"Eh…they can HAVE it. The last thing I need to be hearing whispered around the halls is me and Danny and our make-out schedule," Sam answered dismissively before leaning in to nuzzle Danny's cheek. Let's face it, there's only ONE person I want having access to THAT information."

"So…how long do you think it'll last?" Valerie felt obliged to ask.

"Even money…they'll both be looking to trade up the second they hit college," Sam answered with a hollow chuckle. "Assuming, of course, that either one of them actually MAKES IT to college."

"Well…at least Dash looks happy," Danny noted, looking over his shoulder at Dash's giggly, bashful smile as Paulina leaned in and softly kissed his cheek. "Maybe I can look forward to him getting off my back for the next couple of weeks."

"So I guess it was pretty lucky that Dash happened to be in the right place at the right time to save Paulina when he did." Valerie added.

"Yeah…," Danny replied suggestively, his gaze idling back and forth. "Pret-ty lucky…"

"Uh, Danny?" Sam had to ask with a suspicious gaze. "By any chance, you didn't happen to KNOW that Dash was right there, next to Paulina, when you phased through Walker's blast, did you?"

"Who, ME?" Danny answered jokingly, rolling his eyes and batting his eyelids in an act of purely fake innocence. It was then that everyone realized that Dash's miraculous rescue of Paulina wasn't quite the lucky coincidence it seemed.

"Ooooooooh, you are BAAAAAD," Sam remarked, smirking as she snuggled up tighter to Danny.

"Well, he DID say he wanted to rescue her. And I figured all that football practice had to be good for SOMETHING.," Danny pointed out with a shrug. "What can I say? Sometimes all you need is a little push in the right direction."

"So guys, just out of curiosity, what happened to Wulf after we left?" Tucker asked, changing the subject as they neared Fenton works.

"Oh, the usual. He just ran off again." Danny replied. "You know how it is. It's not like we have any control over what he does. If I know him, he's probably out by Lake Eerie again…"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Danielle's scream came from down the block, cutting off Danny's thought.

"Danny , that came from your house!" Sam exclaimed.

Without a pause, Danny and the others broke into a run, the final half block to the house. A second later, a transformed Danny, Sam and Valerie burst through the front door of Fenton works, with Tucker right behind, ready to deal with anything they might face inside.

However, what they ended up facing was none other than Wulf, who had Danielle pinned to the ground, happily licking her cheek. And as Danielle hugged his big face, all she could do was kick her feet and squeal in response to Wulf's ticklish onslaught.

"He…he followed me home!" she giggled as Wulf continued to lick her cheeks. "Awww, he's cute…Can we keep him…?"

"He'd-better-be-housebroken," Tucker stated plainly as he, Danny, Sam and Valerie could only look on, their faces a mixture of surprise and confusion.

The End


End file.
